The unfortunate death of Juliana Marins, a 26-year-old Brazilian tourist, has been further investigated after she fell while ascending Mount Rinjani in Indonesia. Marins’ body was found last Tuesday following a four-day search, after she plummeted near the volcano’s peak, which is approximately 12,200 feet high.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Marins died due to “blunt force trauma” which resulted in severe internal bleeding, leading to her death within 20 minutes. Forensic specialist, Dr. Ida Bagus Putu Alit, confirmed that Marins’ injuries were severe and quickly led to her demise. He highlighted that the most critical injuries were to her respiratory system, with significant damage to her internal organs caused by wounds to her chest and back. He also noted a substantial amount of bleeding in her chest cavity.
Although Marins also suffered a head injury, it was not the primary cause of her death. On the morning of Saturday, June 21, Marins was hiking with a group when she fell off a cliff surrounding a trail on Mount Rinjani, dropping 490 feet. Initial cries for help were heard from Marins, and drone footage showed her alive after her initial fall. However, rescue teams were unable to reach her due to the dense fog and other challenging conditions on the volcano.
When search teams eventually found Marins, she had fallen nearly 2,000 feet from her initial fall point. It is speculated that Marins, a publicist and dancer from Rio De Janeiro, may have fallen a second time, resulting in her fatal injuries. Her body was airlifted from the mountain last Wednesday and taken to Bali Mandara Hospital for examination.
Dr. Alit estimated her time of death to be 12-24 hours before the autopsy on Wednesday, which did not align with the rescuers’ reports of finding no signs of life on Tuesday. This discrepancy, along with the fact that her body had already been moved and stored in a freezer, has led Marins’ family to question the initial autopsy findings. They have requested a second autopsy to be conducted in Brazil.
Marins was on a backpacking trip across Southeast Asia, having visited Vietnam and Thailand before arriving in Indonesia for her dream trek.