THE mother of schoolboy Noah Donohoe says her son was "failed" by authorities including the PSNI and Department for Infrastructure.
The body of the 14-year-old was found in a storm drain in North Belfast in June 2020, six days after he went missing after leaving his South Belfast home.
BOND: Fiona Donohoe and son Noah, who went missing in June 2020
On Tuesday, an inquest into his death concluded with the jury reaching a unanimous verdict after five days of deliberations.
After considering ten questions, the jury found it was possible, but not probable, that failings by the Department for Infrastructure contributed to Noah's death.
Jurors also found there were no police failings that contributed to the 14-year-old's death but identified 13 failings during the investigation.
Reading a statement on behalf of Noah's mum Fiona outside court, solicitor Niall Murphy said: "Noah was my greatest gift in life. I miss him every minute of every day. He should still be here with me, following his dreams and planning for the future.
"I came to this Inquest seeking answers – and I leave it with one clear answer – Noah was failed.
“He was failed by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), who left a deadly storm drain unsecured and accessible to children. He was failed by the PSNI who, from the moment I reported him missing, repeatedly failed to investigate and from the moment he was found, stopped looking for answers.
“Instead, to deflect from their own failings, the DfI and PSNI have sought to blame Noah.
“This inquest has exposed a culture of institutional defensiveness that goes to the heart of these public bodies, coupled with a reckless disinterest in investigating what happened to my son.
"I will never understand why and can never accept that Noah’s death did not merit a full and fearless investigation.
"Answers of 'I don’t know' and 'I can’t recall' permeated the evidence heard at this inquest. It is easy to say you don’t know, when you failed to find out.
"It is easy to say you can’t recall, when you haven’t secured and preserved the evidence capable of providing answers.
"The jury’s verdict lays bare that the evidence they have heard reveals an inventory of clear and repeated failings on the part of the PSNI and DfI. Noah deserved better.
“I would like to express my thanks to the jury for the commitment and dedication they have shown, and to the Coroner Mr Justice Rooney, for his compassion on some of the most difficult days.
“Thank you to Noah’s band of brothers, particularly his best friends, Jay and Charlie. Noah would be so proud of them, for showing up for him, and for reminding everyone of the funny, ambitious, loyal and positive boy Noah was.
“I always told Noah I would fight his corner if he ever needed me to. Luckily, I have not been alone in this fight, and I am so grateful to my family and to Noah’s Army who have stood in Noah’s corner alongside me, in their thousands, from day one. They carry Noah’s legacy with them."
Solicitor Niall Murphy, centre, Fiona Donohoe, left
Niall Murphy added: “Fiona Donohoe has suffered indignity after indignity since Noah’s disappearance and death six years ago, most often at the hands of those who she trusted to bring her son home and those who carried a duty to give her answers.
“Throughout this inquest, Fiona has sat stoic in the courtroom, listening to the most traumatic of evidence and witnessing repeated attempts by the DfI and PSNI to defend their respective positions.
"Their highhanded conduct serves only to humiliate and retraumatise. It would break most people.
“In the face of such indignity, Fiona’s resilience and perseverance, and her steadfastness in the fight for answers for her son, cannot be understated.
"It should be a basic minimum that the DfI prevent access, by children, to deadly culverts in residential areas.
"It should be a basic minimum that when a child goes missing the PSNI do all in their power to find out what happened to him. When a missing child dies, it cries out for an explanation.
"It is an affront to public justice that a grieving mother has had to fight for years for answers, that a grieving mother has had to fight to expose the many and repeated failings in the police investigation.
"Let us be clear, the jury’s findings of repeated failings are as a result of a tireless pursuit for information from Fiona Donohoe. It is completely wrong that a mother has had to investigate her own son’s disappearance and death. If left to the PSNI and DfI alone, we would have no answers at all."
