Family of model Ivana Smit, who died suspiciously in Kuala Lumpur, to sue Malaysia gov't

The lawsuit against the Malaysian government which was initiated by Ivana Smit's surviving family will go ahead, their attorney, Sébas Diekstra, announced on Monday. An attempt to reach an out-of-court settlement with the police and the government there through mediation was unsuccessful.

The Dutch model died under suspicious circumstances in the capital of Kuala Lumpur on December 7, 2017. The 18-year-old went back to their 20th-floor apartment of American cryptocurrency millionaire Alex Johnson and his wife, Luna, after a night out. She was then found dead on the street after apparently falling from the residence. It later emerged that the couple may have had, or attempted to have, a sexual encounter with the young model, but they did not disclose this to Malaysian police.

Initially, two pathologists in Malaysia ruled the death to be accidental and caused by the fall. However, an independent autopsy performed a few weeks later by a forensic expert in the Netherlands ruled that there was evidence of other injuries unrelated to the fall. That led to additional hearings in which one local pathologist retracted their earlier report, while the other said they had not immediately examined the body. It also emerged that police did not seal off the apartment, and allowed the Johnsons to bring someone in to clean their apartment.

The Dutch forensic investigator said Smit had a contusion on the back of her head from an injury sustained before the fall. There was evidence of bruising on the inner and outer portions of her upper arms, suggesting she had been grabbed or held with force.

Combined with the fact that a toxicology report showed Smit had ingested cocaine and designer drug PMMA, which can be a lethal combination, a court said in November 2019 that there was evidence that a crime may have been committed. Police also testified they suspected foul play. With the court ruling, the government promised to move the case forward, with police saying it was a murder investigation. However, the case ground to a halt in the years that followed.

"The judge ruled that there was a crime and ordered a murder investigation," Diekstra explained. The family filed the lawsuit as a means to force the investigation to take place, as the Malaysian government "failed to fulfil its legal duties," he said on Monday. One court ordered in August that Smit's family should try to mediate the dispute out of court, but that did not lead to a resolution. The reasons for this were unclear.

The court hearing can lead to a ruling that the authorities have been negligent in handling the case. The relatives want the Malaysian authorities to "do what they promised and that is to investigate the matter thoroughly," he said.

When the lawsuit was initially filed in May 2023, the relevant court set aside 18 days for hearings in October and November of this year.