Police Officer Testifies About Naked Youth on CCTV After Noah Donohoe's Disappearance
A police constable has provided detailed testimony at the ongoing inquest into the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe, describing CCTV footage he viewed on the night after the schoolboy vanished. Constable Morrow told Belfast Coroner's Court that he was called to Northwood Road in north Belfast on June 22, 2020, approximately 24 hours after Noah left his home on his bicycle to meet friends in the Cavehill area.
CCTV Footage Description
Constable Morrow explained that a resident approached him with footage from a domestic CCTV system on a mobile phone. The officer stated he observed a male cycling up Northwood Road shortly after 6:00 PM on the previous evening. "The male appeared to be younger from his stature," Morrow testified. "However, at no point did I see the male's face to confirm age. I observed that the male had no clothes on and jumped off his bike and ran between houses and the direction of wasteland behind the street."
The constable acknowledged that the resident informed him the footage was approximately three minutes slow compared to real time. He did not seize the footage or create handwritten notes about what he saw, explaining that the resident did not know how to download the video from the mobile device.
Questioning of Police Procedures
Brenda Campbell KC, counsel for Noah's mother Fiona Donohoe, questioned Constable Morrow about his handling of the CCTV evidence. She asked why he had not immediately conducted a time check on the footage and why no handwritten notes were made. The officer responded that he accepted the resident's statement about the three-minute delay and noted that formal time checks would typically only occur when footage was being officially seized as evidence.
Constable Thompson, who viewed the same footage alongside Morrow, testified that the youth in the video appeared to match Noah's description. He presumed the individual had entered the dense wooded area behind Northwood Road. Thompson returned to the scene in the early hours of the following morning to search accessible locations including coal bunkers, sheds, and gardens where Noah might have sought shelter.
Missed CCTV Opportunities
The inquest heard concerning evidence about potential missed CCTV footage during the critical first 24 hours after Noah's disappearance. Ms. Campbell highlighted that police logs indicated a "negative result" from CCTV checks at the Grove leisure centre on Shore Road at 3:15 PM on June 22. However, subsequent analysis revealed the leisure centre's CCTV system operated approximately 43 minutes behind real time.
"If an officer or officers on CCTV duty checked the camera time for 6:00 PM rather than the real time, they are looking at a period 40 minutes after Noah has passed. And so he's never going to be on it," Campbell explained to the court. She suggested Noah "may have been missed on that Grove footage" because he would have been visible at 6:01 PM when police reported a "negative result."
Investigation Timeline and Challenges
Detective Constable Keatley testified that she was tasked with investigating Noah's whereabouts on June 22. When questioned about the urgency level of CCTV collection efforts, she stated, "My understanding was that everyone was very invested in this investigation, but I can't speak for crews I didn't see or wasn't with."
The inquest revealed inconsistencies in police documentation, with Constable Thompson acknowledging an error in his statement about his involvement in the investigation. Body-worn camera footage shown to the jury displayed police reviewing CCTV of Noah riding his bicycle on York Street from the Yorkgate shopping complex. Ms. Campbell suggested there were "potentially a treasure trove" of additional cameras that could have tracked Noah's journey through Belfast.
Background and Continuing Proceedings
Noah Donohoe was found naked and drowned in a storm drain tunnel in north Belfast six days after his disappearance in June 2020. A post-mortem examination confirmed drowning as the cause of death. The inquest, now in its fourth week before a jury, continues to examine the circumstances surrounding the tragedy and the police response during the initial search period. Fiona Donohoe, Noah's mother, has attended every day of the proceedings as the court seeks to establish a complete timeline of events and investigative actions.
