The inquest into the death of Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe resumed today after breaking for the mid-term, with the handling of evidence in the case coming under scrutiny. The hearing also heard from a witness who told the court that he saw Noah cycling with no clothes on, initially thinking it was a “prank.”
Noah, a pupil of St Malachy’s College in Belfast, was aged just 14 when he was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he cycled from home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of the city. The inquest has now entered its fourth week, with Noah’s mother Fiona having attended every day
The witness told Belfast coroner’s court that he had been visiting his mother’s partner’s house on 21 June 2020 when he looked out the window and saw a male cycling nude, thinking initially that it must have been a “prank.”
He said that while he did not see the boy’s face, his clothing and appearance matched a description of Noah Donohoe, who had been reported as missing.
In his statement, Conor McConnell, said: “While at the house, I was sat facing the living room window that looks out onto Northwood Road when I saw a male cycle past the window naked.
“I initially thought that this was a prank.”
The witness, whose mother’s house is in the Northwood Road area of Belfast, said he had gone outside after seeing the boy and found items of clothing on the street. He said in a second statement given to police that he had observed shorts and boxers that “looked like they had been stepped out of,” while his shoes were neatly placed on the footpath, as was a t-shirt and hoodie, which he said he believed also belonged to the male. The shoes did not appear to have been discarded, but were neatly set down.
An audio of the phone call between the witness and police was played, during which an officer confirmed that the missing child’s clothes had been found in the area.
Mr McConnell, who detailed his interactions with the police when questioned by barrister for the PSNI, Donal Lunny KC, said that officers were “very dismissive” and quickly moved on from discussion. He said he made multiple calls to the PSNI and was told they “could have been missed potentially” due to the volume, or “swamp” of calls in relation to the disappearance at the time.
Also at the inquest on Monday, barrister for Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe raised concerns that Noah’s clothing was placed in bags which were not sealed. In response to Brenda Campbell KC, a PSNI officer denied that the force had lost items of Noah’s clothing that had been recovered after his disappearance.
Constable Tim Wilson, who recalled being called to Northwood Road on the evening of 22 June amid reports that the child’s bike had been found, said he was “not aware at the time” that Noah’s case was a high risk missing person case. The Constable said he wore gloves to pick up Noah’s clothes, and placed Noah’s jumper and shoes into evidence bags – however confirmed that the bags had not been forensically sealed.
He said that his focus at the time was keeping the clothes items secured as the weather was “changing,” with the evidence bags placed into the boot of the PSNI vehicle.
When probed on why the bags hadn’t been forensically sealed, he said that he was dealing with a missing person, “not knowing it was the level it was at – if items were covered in blood it would have changed circumstances, but they were not.”
The officer denied losing the clothes. In reference to the police log, Brenda Campbell KC asked: “One interpretation of this is that you did find all Noah’s clothing, but it’s just been lost since. Is that what happened?”
To this, the officer replied: “No, definitely not.”
Constable Wilson said that he could see no evidence on the hoodie or shoes that suggested any crime, including blood or damage to the items of clothing. It was also noted that at the time, the Constable did not know for definite if the clothing items belonged to the missing person and that he had collected the clothes as evidence as a precautionary measure.
The inquest hearing resumes tomorrow morning, Tuesday, February 17, at 10am.