THE inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe has continued at Belfast Coroner’s Court this week.
The 14-year-old’s body was discovered in a storm drain in North Belfast in June 2020, six days after the St Malachy’s College student went missing as he cycled to meet friends.
What we learned from the inquest this week:
- A specialist PSNI inspector revealed that a search of the storm drain tunnel was delayed by "hostile" crowds in the Linear Park area. He said people were frustrated and he detected "anti-police" feeling among a portion of the crowd.
- Police searches in the tunnel, which began three days after Noah went missing were hampered by stone and metal obstructions, silt and toxins and tidal flows.
- The inquest was shown footage from a preliminary inspection when a camera was sent 16 metres along the inside of the tunnel from a manhole in Linear Park, not far from the culvert entrance in the area where Noah was seen before he disappeared.
- The PSNI experienced "major" failures with their ControlWorks software for recording public reports during the search, requiring a return to manual methods.
- A police officer said he was "not aware at the time" it was a high risk missing person case.
- A police officer said he wore gloves to pick up Noah's jumper and shoes and placed them into evidence bags. However, these bags were not forensically sealed.
- A witness thought it was a “prank” when he saw the schoolboy cycling naked on the day he disappeared.
- Connor McConnell said he contacted police twice after his sighting of Noah but it wasn't until two years later that police contacted Mr McConnell to make a statement.
The inquest continues.
