Further work needed before date can be set for Noah Donohoe inquest, court told

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

Further work needs to be done before a date can be set for an inquest into the death of Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe, a court has been told.

The hearing was told that the family of Noah want all issues around the disclosure of police material in the case settled before the inquest takes place.

Noah, 14, was found dead in a storm drain in the city in June 2020 six days after he went missing as he cycled to meet up with friends.

His mother Fiona Donohoe is hoping to secure answers to some of the questions surrounding the death of her son through the inquest process.

The inquest was originally scheduled to take place last year, but was then delayed after a ruling from coroner Joe McCrisken that it should proceed with a jury, following an application from Noah's mother.

At a brief pre-inquest review at Laganside Courthouse on Wednesday, counsel for the coroner Declan Quinn said he had reached out to legal representatives of both the Donohoe family and the PSNI in advance of the hearing.

He said: "The focus of the next of kin is on settling all disclosure issues in advance of any hearing date."

Mr Quinn said the family had sought clarity on two separate tranches of CCTV.

He said the police would share one tranche with the family, but said that communication was continuing over the second and it may require a court ruling.

He said: "Work has been ongoing but further work is required before a finalised inquest date can be set."

Brenda Campbell KC, representing the Donohoe family, said the next of kin required further information on a number of issues.

She said: "One was in relation to forensic toxicology. We had queried the extent of the forensic toxicology investigations and also the availability of samples."

The second related to the request for CCTV footage close to Noah's home address.

She said: "We received a response that one of the items of CCTV constitutes several days of footage and would take weeks of working hours to view, it would not be disclosed to us because it was not relevant and our request was disproportionate."

Saying she was encouraged that communication was continuing on the matter, Ms Campbell added: "It is important footage if only to put issues to bed."

The court was also told that the Donohoe family had retained the services of a forensic pathologist and also a forensic toxicologist as expert witnesses for the inquest.

Mr McCrisken said: "I think we are all agreed that starting in September wouldn't be suitable given the work that is still outstanding."

A further review hearing will take place on a date to be set in September.

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Coroner ruling in Noah Donohoe inquest

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