KUALA LUMPUR: The family of a Dutch model who was found dead on the sixth floor of a condominium is believed to have left Malaysia.
According to a close friend of the family, who wants to be known only as Bart, 19-year-old Ivana Smit's parents and brother left for the Netherlands via the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 7.55pm on Friday.
Speaking on the phone with Ivana's father Marcel Smit yesterday, Bart said, the specific reason for the sudden departure will be clear as Marcel is expected to speak to the press soon.
He said the family had initially bought three flight tickets at a later date but they changed their minds and bought new tickets because "they were in a hurry".
They left Ivana's body behind in Kuala Lumpur.
The family, who had arrived in Malaysia on Monday to claim Ivana's remains, expressed doubts that her death was an accident, claiming that Ivana had bruise marks on her neck.
City police Criminal Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner Rusdi Mohd Isa, when contacted, said police are expected to release a statement regarding the investigation on the case, by Monday.
Last week, Ivana was found dead on the balcony on the sixth floor of an apartment in Jalan Dang Wangi where she had stayed with an American man and his wife from Kazakhstan on the 20th floor.
Earlier, she was reported to have gone out drinking with the couple.
Ivana, who has dual Dutch and Belgian citizenship, was the second runner-up in the Malaysia Supermodel Search 2014 when she was 15 years old.