The fifth week in the inquest into the death of teenager Noah Donohoe continued to hear evidence relating to the PSNI’s investigation as well as the head of the community search and rescue efforts.
The 14-year-old schoolboy was reported missing on June 21, 2020, and was later found dead six days later in a storm drain in north Belfast.
This week marked the fourth full week of evidence brought before the jury, with proceedings at Belfast’s Coroner Court due to resume on Monday, March 2.
Here are some of the key points from this week’s proceedings.
CCTV coordinator first heard of camera at rear of 85 Northwood Road in inquest
One of the CCTV coordinators from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which took over the case from local police on June 24, gave evidence to the inquest this week.
During questioning, Detective Sergeant Gardiner was asked if he had been aware of a camera facing the rear of 85 Northwood Road when his officers attended the property to seize footage.
Footage from a front-facing camera at the property of Noah cycling naked and dropping his bike would eventually become the last known footage of the schoolboy.
DS Gardiner said that he “first heard” of the camera through coverage of the ongoing inquest and that the “only camera” he had been aware of “was the front camera which captures him cycling”.
The inquest also heard about the discrepancy in the camera time of footage from the front of the home, which was originally stated as being three minutes out when seized by local police.
The time stamp on the footage was then raised to be re-checked after footage from the Shore Road emerged and would have put Noah’s journey to Northwood Road at around ten minutes and was an “anomaly”.
Footage at Noah’s home was not watched until 2022
Brenda Campbell KC, counsel for Ms Donohoe, showed the inquest a document allocating a task to DS Gardiner to obtain “48 hours of CCTV” from Noah’s home address on June 26.
It was later noted that the original footage was viewed to check the time and it was found that it “does not work”, with an officer sent to retrieve a new copy.
Ms Campbell pointed out to the inquest that the footage wasn’t watched by another officer until 2022.
Barrister for the PSNI, Donal Lunny KC, later asked the witness if the task to obtain footage from Fitzroy Avenue was assigned ‘high priority’ because it would mean that it would be secured and not necessarily reviewed then and there, which the witness agreed with.
During further questioning on the early part of Noah’s journey, Ms Campbell asked if CCTV enquiries were carried out to establish why Noah turned right from his home on Fitzroy Avenue, when turning left would have taken him straight onto the Ormeau Road.
“In terms of CCTV enquiries, no there wasn’t. The priorities were elsewhere and I wasn’t asked to do that,” he said.
Noah ‘didn’t come into contact with anybody’ in CCTV footage of bike journey
The inquest heard that in CCTV footage police obtained of Noah’s final bike journey, he didn’t “come into contact with anybody” on his journey.
Mr Lunny clarified that this included Daryl Paul, who would later pick up Noah’s backpack long after Noah had disappeared in north Belfast.
He added that Mr Paul “in particular is no where near Noah on any part of his journey” except for when he cycles past him at the very start of his journey in south Belfast – during which they had no interaction.
The coroner also heard, in an interaction which was temporarily under reporting restriction but has since been lifted, that there was “categorical acceptance” that Mr Paul could not have interacted with Noah during his journey. Ms Donohoe’s barrister, Ms Campbell, agreed that this was not in dispute.
The issue of when and where Noah parted with his backpack was addressed during questions over CCTV checks.
DS Gardiner pointed out that they had a hypothesis that Noah may have dropped his backpack around Lancaster Street. He said this was based off footage of Noah captured by a Goldliner bus driving down York Street, where he “appears to pause” at Lancaster Street before cycling on.
During questioning from Mr Lunny, the witness was asked about the CCTV enquiries carried out by local policing in the first 24 hours. He said that in his experience, it was “an achievement almost” to be able to track someone “from one side of the city” in the time they did.
He added that there was a “substantial resource” for CID’s CCTV checks and that he doesn’t think he “had that many people to dedicate to CCTV enquiries before”.
PSNI press conferences discussed and log notes showing hypotheses including ‘mood-altering substances’
A former PSNI chief superintendent who delivered press conferences relating to the Noah Donohoe investigation between June 24 and 27 also gave evidence this week.
Muir Clark, now the Commissioner of the Royal Anguilla Police Force, was then responsible for uniformed police resources in Belfast but was never the senior investigating officer (SIO) or in charge of the Noah Donohoe investigation. Mr Muir pointed out that he was chosen to deliver the press conferences due to his previous media experience when involved with road policing.
He said that his knowledge of the case came from briefings and statements put together by the media officer with insight from the SIO, as well as sitting in on case conferences as an observer.
Mr Clark said that the mention of the head injury theory was “reasonable” given that he had been seen falling and added that he was clear that it was one of a number of possible hypotheses.
He added that mention that they didn’t have evidence of “foul play” during a press conference on June 27 was made as he was told this was an “accurate reflection” of the investigation at the time and that there were a number of rumours on social media including suggestions of foul play.
Logs from the Police Search Adviser (PolSA) were shown to the inquest from June 23 in which hypotheses included that Noah had sustained an injury or that he had taken “mood-altering substances” among other factors which could have resulted in his behaviour on Northwood Road.
The witness said he knew there had been “a number of hypotheses” but when asked if“mood-altering substances” had been brought to his attention, he couldn’t recall if that one specifically had been or not.
Mr Clark said that the information he gave to the public was “given in good faith”.
Adult search team member was able to pass through culvert inlet cover bars
The inquest also heard from Sean McCarry, the regional commander of the Community Rescue Service (CRS), which carried out searches for Noah during the week of his disappearance.
Mr McCarry said that there were in excess of 100 volunteers searching for the missing teen, with initial focus on Cave Hill due to that being Noah’s intended destination.
He said that the discovery of the bike and subsequently the CCTV footage of Noah cycling naked made Northwood Road Noah’s last known location and focus of searches from the evening of June 22.
The witness added that one of their adult searchers, who was “of slim build” was able to “to pass between the bars of the upstream side of the culvert cover”.
The inquest also heard that they alerted the PolSA of the inlet, who agreed that a specialist confined searches team would need to be tasked.
The inquest heard that at 1am on June 23, the search of ‘waste ground’ was suspended by the PolSA due to health and safety issues including the terrain and time of the morning.
However, Mr McCarry said that they were “fairly confident” he wasn’t there after having initially searched the area at the time it was suspended but noted it would need a follow-up search.
He noted that those who had been searching the waste ground moved into surrounding areas and searches carried on throughout the night.
Northwood Road may have been area of focus earlier in day had leisure centre CCTV footage of Noah been identified sooner
Ms Campbell asked the witness about the importance that footage at the Grove Leisure Centre would have played in the search efforts earlier on the Monday.
The inquest previously heard that footage at the centre “may have been missed” due to the camera’s time stamp being out by around 40 minutes when it was checked on the Monday afternoon by officers.
Ms Campbell showed a map placing the Grove Leisure Centre at the centre with a 500m radius around it, which would have included Northwood Road/Crescent where Noah’s bike, clothes and helmet would be found later that evening.
When asked if Northwood Road could have become a focus sooner had police identified the footage early on the Monday, Mr McCarry said it “may well have”.
He later clarified that the decision to move any teams to the area around the centre would have been a decision for the PolSA but noted that it would be “reasonable to come to the conclusion” that they would have been asked to move some searchers there.
He estimated it might have taken searchers in the northern part of the radius around two hours to reach Northwood Road.
Police had ‘phone ping’ map seven hours before it was passed to community rescue
The issue of ‘phone ping’ maps arose during Mr McCarry’s evidence.
The CRS team were asked to send some searchers to the North Queen Street area at around 11am after a telecoms liaison unit (TLU) map identified a ping from Noah’s phone at 7.41pm on the Sunday at a cell site on York Road.
It was clarified that the search area provided by the phone ping was a “general location” and was wider than just the street, with the radius extending as far as Sailortown.
Ms Campbell showed the inquest a series of log entries that noted that a police inspector had been sent the TLU map of this ping from around 3.20am. CRS were contacted not long after to assist with the investigation and were tasked to search Cave Hill.
“I cannot disagree with that statement,” he said. He pointed out that it “might not have made a difference” but added that “we don’t know that”.
Ms Campbell pointed out that Ms Donohoe was “concerned” that the TLU map wasn’t given to CRS at the time of being tasked and why it wasn’t matched with CCTV searches, or why Noah was missed at the Grove Leisure Centre footage.
Mr Lunny later noted that another ping further south at 8.10pm on the Sunday was also on the map.
In the early hours of June 22, this was listed in an email subject as the “last known location” of Noah’s phone and notes stated that it didn’t provide “any useful search areas to concentrate on”.
He suggested to the witness that after 10am, CCTV had been identified showing Noah heading towards York Street which “may or may not have made the ping” at 7.41pm in that area “more relevant”.
Ms Campbell said that the “ping” at 8.10pm “is not a cell site” and that it would need clarity from police as to what it indicates.
