Police ‘gripped’ seriousness of Noah Donohoe search at early stage, inquest told

Noah Donohoe, who was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020 Picture:Family handout/PA

Police “gripped” the seriousness of the investigation into the disappearance of Noah Donohoe at an early stage, an inquest has heard.

Chief Inspector Robinson told Belfast Coroner’s Court that he had carried out a compliance review into how police carried out their search for the teenager in 2020.

The inquest into the death of the schoolboy at Belfast Coroner’s Court, which is being heard with a jury, has now entered its seventh week.

Fiona Donohoe, the mother of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe, arrives at Belfast Coroner’s Court for an earlier hearing (Liam McBurney/PA)

Noah, a pupil at St Malachy’s College, was 14 when his naked body was found in a storm drain tunnel in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he left home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of the city.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was drowning.

The inquest resumed on Monday morning with evidence from a further police witness.

Mr Robinson said he had carried out a compliance review in 2020 into the police handling of the Noah Donohoe case.

The witness told the jury he had identified five areas of non-compliance with PSNI procedures, including around the recording of risk assessments.

He also referred to a more detailed review of the case that had been carried out by another inspector in August 2020.

He said the “overall case” in this review was that there had been a “very good response to the investigation”.

He said: “To be clear, I agree with the general thrust of the report that it was a good response.”

The witness said the seriousness of the investigation had been “gripped at an early stage” by police.

The inquest is taking place at Laganside Courthouse (Liam McBurney/PA)

He said: “A large amount of police resources were engaged at a very early stage.”

The officer said he did not consider there would have been any benefit to having a senior investigating officer (SIO) appointed to the case at an earlier stage.

Counsel for the coroner, Declan Quinn, asked Mr Robinson if he believed any of the issues raised in the review “affected the speed or the quality of the search for Noah”.

The officer replied: “I don’t believe so.”