Dutch model may have taken cocktail of drugs

KUALA LUMPUR: Preliminary findings into the death of a teenage Dutch model indicated that the victim tested positive for a cocktail of at least three drugs, sources said.

A pending chemist report will provide the final piece to the puzzle in concluding a fresh probe into the death of Ivana Esther Robert Smit, 19, (pix).

Sources revealed that pathologists who conducted the postmortem report had sent blood and tissue samples to the Chemistry Department to ascertain if there was substance abuse by Ivana prior to her death.

In the new course of investigations police had initiated after Ivana’s family alleged foul play in her death, sources said it is yet to reap leads that point to criminal elements.

Dang Wangi police chief ACP Shaharuddin Abdullah said yesterday the case remained classified as sudden death or free of criminal elements.

He said investigators are waiting for the chemist’s report before the findings of the investigations are made public possibly this week.

It is claimed that Ivana had joined in a swingers party the night before her death and had followed a US national and his wife, a Kazakhstan national, to their home on the 20th floor of a condominium in Jalan Dang Wangi.

The following day, the model’s nude body was found on the balcony of the 6th floor of the apartment block.

After questioning the couple, police detained the American and his wife after they tested positive for drug use.

They were subsequently charged in court for drug use.

They had told police that they had only known Ivana for about two months and had met her for the second time the day before she was killed at their apartment.

The couple also told investigators that they had allowed her to stay with them as she was highly intoxicated and was unaware she had fallen from the balcony of their home.

Sources said investigators believe it is highly likely the victim had strayed to the balcony in a state of intoxication and drowsiness before falling to her death.

Checks by theSun showed that the American is a chief financial officer and cofounder of a locally-registered cryptocurrency company.