Lead police investigator apologises to Noah Donohoe's mother

A senior police officer has apologised to Noah Donohoe's mother and admitted that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) missed opportunities during the investigation into the schoolboy's disappearance and death.

PSNI Det Ch Insp Tom Phillips, from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), attended the inquest into Noah's death on Tuesday.

Noah's mother, Fiona Donohoe, listened in a back corner of the courtroom as her barrister told the police witness that he replied - "I don't know" - on more than 30 occasions during his evidence.

The 14-year-old schoolboy's body was found in a water tunnel six days after his disappearance in Belfast in June 2020.

During the initial phase of his evidence, Phillips told the coroner Mr Justice Rooney and the jury that the PSNI did everything they could to find Noah as quickly as they could.

The witness was asked if he agreed that Fiona Donohoe should not have been left in a position where she had to "force" what was described as a proper police investigation into her son's death.

"I'm very sorry she had to do that," Phillips replied.

Asked about missed investigative opportunities during the investigation for which he was the senior investigating officer, the police witness said he fully accepted that matters were brought to the attention of the PSNI "that I missed, and yes that shouldn't have happened".

The senior police officer also spoke about a breakdown in relations between Fiona Donohoe and the PSNI and said he was "truly sorry" for any part he played in the deterioration of the relations between the two parties.

"I can't imagine the pain she goes through every day," he added.

Phillips also went on to say that he should have been "more inquisitive about Noah's home life" during the investigations.

He referred specifically to CCTV footage of Noah leaving his home in the early hours of the morning of his disappearance.

The witness said a greater focus on Noah's home life could potentially have brought that CCTV footage or other information to the attention of the police at a much earlier stage and could have provided other potential investigative lines of enquiries.

However, he emphasised that he was "not saying for one moment" that Fiona Donohoe was at fault in any way, but he believed a "more inquisitive" approach to their family life could have provided additional investigative opportunities.

He referenced an account by Fiona Donohoe that she believed her son could not leave their home in the middle of the night because she would have become aware of it as a result of a "squeaky door".

The witness was then cross-examined by the Donohoe family barrister who took him through a series of direct questions.

One by one, she asked Phillips - where did Noah go to in the early hours of the morning of his disappearance? Did he travel somewhere by car, did he go into a property? Where did his flipflops go? Where did his headphones go? Why was he barefoot when he returned home? Why did he leave home in one direction and return from the opposite direction? And why was Noah's belt loose when he returned home after 04:00 on 21 June 2020.

Responding to each question, Philips replied: "I don't know."

"We should have found those answers," he added.

The barrister then asked the witness why the PSNI did not conduct investigations into movements around the nearby Holyland area of south Belfast after eventually viewing the footage of Noah leaving his home at Fitzroy Avenue, in the early hours of the morning of his disappearance.

"I have no explanation," Phillips replied.

The witness was also asked about what the PSNI knew about some of the movements of Daryl Paul, the man who found Noah's missing rucksack after his disappearance.

He was specifically asked about Paul's movements in north Belfast, along the route of Noah's final bicycle ride through that area, and if the witness knew exactly where Paul found Noah's rucksack.

"I don't know," Phillips replied.

The witness went on to explain that the place where the bag was found was not a priority at the time because it was not going to help the police to find Noah which was the "main objective" of the search operation.

Philips was then asked a number of other questions, including if the PSNI knew how Noah's missing phone got into Castleton Park in north Belfast where it was found, and if the police knew where Noah's shorts and boxer shorts ended up. These items of clothing have never been found.

The senior police witness once more replied: "I don't know."

Noah's clothes had been discarded at separate locations along the final stages of his bicycle ride, and Phillips explained that bins had been emptied when the police conducted searches for the missing clothes.

He also said they made enquiries at a landfill site, but searches at the landfill were "not viable" in terms of recovering the missing clothing.

When he was questioned about reports of some people hearing possible screams or outside noises and sounds while Noah was missing, Phillips told the inquest that no- one had come forward to say that they heard any "cries of help me".

The police witness also described to the inquest how the investigation into Noah's disappearance was being conducted against the backdrop of ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and how "public interest was becoming unprecedented" in the early days of the investigation.

"I don't think I've ever known a week as busy in my life," the witness added.

Phillips also explained that the PSNI had to consider various possibilities based on information they were receiving from Fiona Donohoe, including details "from mum about mood".

He explained the investigation was also guided by other information about the schoolboy discarding his possessions and clothing and being naked when he disappeared.

The police witness said one consideration was that Noah may have had a bag on the other side of a nearby park with "a change of clothes" and that he may have been preparing to leave the area, while another possibility was that he may have been kidnapped.

Phillips elaborated on this aspect of the investigation when he told the coroner and the jury that conspiracies and rumours were "flooding the community", including claims that Noah had been kidnapped and murdered by "certain factions".

He said the police had to consider a wide range of issues including the possibility of "someone being hurt in the name of revenge".

Responding to questions about a police press conference during which it was stated that Noah had sustained a head injury when he fell from his bicycle before he disappeared, Phillips accepted that the police considered it a possibility and added: "I can only apologise if that caused any upset."

He also expressed regret over the failure to download some CCTV footage during the investigation, saying it was down to "a communication breakdown".

"It shouldn't have happened and I do apologise," he said.

Phillips was also questioned about previous evidence from a police constable that he had been briefed at a meeting, attended by Phillips, about what to say about Noah's missing coat when he attended the inquest.

The senior police witness denied that any briefing relating to the matter had taken place.

He said he "did not tell him what to say, did not tell him how to answer questions".

"I'm many things, I'm not a liar," he said.

The inquest continues.