A WITNESS at the inquest of Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe said she heard a single "high-pitched scream" in the early hours of the morning after Noah's disappearance in the area.
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.
Jemma Mc Mullen from Northwood Parade told the inquest that she was reading a book in bed at the time and the sound came "totally out of the blue".
She said it was loud enough for her to look out, but she could not see anyone but that she was "pretty confident" it was a scream.
Another witness told the inquest she heard someone trying her back door handle in the early hours of the morning after the schoolboy's disappearance.
Sandra Semple, who lived at Premier Drive in North Belfast, a short distance from where Noah was last seen at Northwood Road, said she was in bed watching television when she heard a noise at her door.
She said she heard the sound of "the handle being tried" at around 3am on Monday, June 22, 2020.
She explained that she thought it was someone trying to break in to her home.
Chris Morrow, another resident of Northwood Road, explained to the inquest that he noticed a bicycle on the edge of a driveway in Northwood Road on the evening of Noah's disappearance.
He also said he noticed a black helmet in the area the following day and alerted police officers who were searching in the area at the time.
The inquest continues.
