Donohoe inquest returns verdict as authorities criticised

The jury at the inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe has given a narrative verdict, while criticising Stormont's Department for Infrastructure over maintenance of the storm drain where the Belfast schoolboy's body was found.

The 14-year-old's naked body was discovered six days after he went missing in June 2020.

After more than 30 hours of deliberations, over five days, the jurors unanimously agreed on the 10 questions they were tasked with.

A narrative verdict is a factual statement of the circumstances surrounding a death without attributing the cause to an individual.

The jury said the Department for Infrastructure "erred" by not identifying that the public could access the underground water tunnel, with no warnings in place around the culvert.

The jurors said the consequence of a decision by the department to install a debris screen, as opposed to a storm screen, meant Noah was able to access the tunnel.

The teenager was found more than 600 metres downstream from where he had last been seen close to the culvert off Northwood Road in north Belfast.

The jury recorded his death as by drowning between 7pm and midnight on the evening he disappeared.

The seven men and two women listed 13 failings by the PSNI, including failing to secure all relevant CCTV footage, poor execution of house-to-house inquiries and a delay in identifying that Noah may have entered the storm drain tunnel.

However, the police were found not to have made any errors that could have contributed to Noah's death "based on the time of death determined".

The jury described how Noah Donohoe left his house on his bicycle on Sunday 21 June 2020 with CCTV footage showing him at various locations and capturing him falling off his bike and cycling naked.

The foreman said they were unable to explain why Noah behaved in the manner he did, saying the "evidence is insufficient to enable us to reach a conclusion".

The inquest began in January, with deliberations beginning at the end of June.

However, in an unprecedented move, deliberations were adjourned in July due to the holiday commitments of four jurors.

The inquest resumed yesterday when one juror was discharged by the coroner, leaving nine remaining to continue deliberations.

At lunchtime today, the jury told the coroner unanimous agreements had been reached in relation to all ten questions.