A senior Stormont official has told the inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe that it was not 'reasonably foreseeable' that someone would access the entrance to the culvert where his body was discovered. Jonathan McKee from the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) stated that he had never encountered another death occurring under similar circumstances to that of the Belfast schoolboy.
Noah, a 14-year-old pupil at St Malachy's College, was found naked in an underground water tunnel in north Belfast on June 27, 2020, six days after he went missing. He had left home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area. His body was located more than 600 metres downstream from where he was last seen near the culvert inlet behind houses at Northwood Road. A post-mortem examination indicated drowning as the likely cause of death.
The inquest, now in its 15th week, continued on Wednesday with Mr McKee giving evidence. He was questioned by Neasa Murnaghan KC, representing the DfI, about the feasibility of erecting a fence between four houses on Northwood Road and the land where the culvert is situated. Mr McKee explained that this would potentially 'cutting off access' for homeowners to land not owned by the department.
Ms Murnaghan asked whether it was 'reasonably foreseeable a trespasser would have accessed' the area. Mr McKee replied: 'I don't believe so. It is not a publicly accessible piece of land, it is bounded by security fencing and a locked gate across its boundaries. There are hedging and fencing at one of the other boundaries and then there are four residential properties on the other boundary. I have been on this piece of land quite a few times and it is certainly a vigilant community. You don't feel you have the right to be there, you feel you are on someone's property. The only reason I am able to go on is the legal powers associated with the department undertaking their responsibilities, you can be on private land. It wouldn't have been, in my view, an area of land where it would have been foreseeable for someone to come on to the houses, enter into their gardens and then cross over that boundary fence or through a gate into this area of land.'
The barrister also inquired about options the department could have taken to reduce risks of access to the culvert. Mr McKee responded: 'It is not always possible to manage the risk associated with infrastructure down to zero. Guidance is the tool to balance the risks that exist. Fencing wasn't a practicable option.' He noted that several deterrents were in place, including a barred debris screen over the culvert entrance. 'I myself wondered could I get through the debris screen. I tried to do that and I couldn't,' he added.
Ms Murnaghan asked: 'In all of your experience have you ever come across a death which has arisen in these circumstances.' Mr McKee answered: 'No.' The inquest continues.
