Anonymous Police Call Recordings Played at Noah Donohoe Inquest
The inquest into the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe at Belfast Coroner’s Court has entered its 10th week, with proceedings focusing on recordings of anonymous phone calls made to police about an attempt to sell the schoolboy’s laptop while he was missing.
Details of the Anonymous Calls
Recordings of two anonymous phone calls, made on June 24 and 25, 2020, were played to the jury. In the first recording, the caller reported that Daryl Paul had attempted to sell a laptop along with a rucksack, a green North Face coat, and a school book bearing Noah Donohoe’s name. The caller expressed concern, stating, “I’m just really worried about this guy. If he knows something about where that boy is.” The second recording followed up, with the caller worried that the information from the initial call had not been acted upon by authorities.
Witness Testimony and Disputes
A statement from witness AC2 was read to the court, detailing that he did not know Noah but had met another witness, AC3, through online bingo during lockdown in June 2020. AC2 recounted that on June 21, 2020, Daryl Paul visited his father’s flat and tried to sell them a laptop, claiming he found it at the Arts College in Belfast. AC2 noted, “The fact that there was no charger and it wasn’t his laptop rang alarm bells for me.” After learning from AC3 that the laptop matched one Noah was carrying, they decided to report it to police, with AC2 saying, “I remember feeling sick about the whole thing.”
However, AC3 later testified that she did not make the anonymous calls to police, despite claims from AC2 and Paul. She stated, “I can say I did not make this call to police, it does not sound like my voice on the call.” When asked why she believed AC2 and Paul implicated her, she responded, “I think the two of them are spoofing.” She also denied knowledge of the second call until it was presented in court.
Background of the Case
Noah Donohoe, a pupil at St Malachy’s College, was 14 when his naked body was discovered in a storm drain tunnel in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he left home on his bike to meet friends in the Cavehill area. A post-mortem examination concluded that the likely cause of death was drowning. His mother, Fiona Donohoe, has attended every day of the inquest, which is being heard with a jury. Daryl Paul, of Cliftonville Avenue, has previously pleaded guilty to stealing a rucksack containing Noah’s laptop and school books.
The inquest resumed on Monday afternoon with evidence from anonymous witnesses regarding the calls made to police after Noah’s disappearance. Proceedings continue as the court delves deeper into the circumstances surrounding this tragic case.
