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The inquest into the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe, a schoolboy from Belfast, has revealed new witness accounts that shed light on the day he went missing. One witness described seeing Noah riding his bike completely naked through north Belfast on the day of his disappearance, initially mistaking the sight for a “Father’s Day prank.” Kerry Fraser recounted how she and her son noticed the teenager riding past a window on Northwood Road, with Fraser stating, “He was totally naked. I thought it was a man who had too much to drink on Father’s Day.” Despite this unusual sight, Fraser did not immediately contact the authorities, assuming it was an intoxicated adult and not wanting to waste police resources.
Several hours later, Fraser and her son returned to the street where they observed various items scattered on the pavement, including Noah’s boxer shorts, shorts, trainers, and a top hanging on a wall. They also spotted Noah’s bicycle abandoned at the top of a cul-de-sac. Following a police appeal, Fraser and her son eventually reported their observations to the police and later removed a distressing Facebook comment after a family member of Noah asked her to do so. The inquest further heard from another local resident, Karen Crooks, who discovered the bicycle near her driveway on the day Noah disappeared. She described the bike as lying “as if it had been abandoned,” though initially she found nothing suspicious and believed it might have been left by a local child.
Miss Crooks’ home is adjacent to a patch of wasteland accessible through her garden, which leads to a culvert designed to manage storm water drainage. The culvert is covered with grilles but remains unlocked. Crooks told the court that she had never feared for safety in this area, as she had assumed the drainage system was properly constructed by a government agency, meeting safety regulations. She had previously allowed her own children to play in the wasteland without concern. It was only following Noah’s tragic discovery that warning signs reading ‘Keep Clear’ and ‘Do Not Enter’ were installed. Crooks also acknowledged that before this incident, she had not received any official warnings about potential hazards in the area.
The inquest also reviewed a police briefing from the week Noah disappeared, which identified him as a “high-functioning autistic teenager.” The last reported sighting of Noah documented in the briefing noted that he was naked and heading toward open ground on 24 June 2020—three days after he went missing. Despite searches, no trace of him was found at that time. A post-mortem examination later confirmed that Noah’s cause of death was drowning. The inquest into his death is scheduled to continue on Monday, as the investigation moves forward
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