Judge to begin charge to jury in Noah inquest

The coroner at the Noah Donohoe inquest is due to begin his charge to the jury on Thursday.

Noah disappeared just over six years ago on 21 June 2020 and was found dead days later.

Mr Justice Rooney will address the eight men and two women on the jury before they are sent out to consider their verdict.

His charge to the jury is expected to take at least one day because of the volume of evidence heard during the inquest.

Addressing the jury on Wednesday, Mr Justice Rooney said his charge could take most of the day and it's "probably unlikely" to be completed on Thursday.

Mr Justice Rooney emphasised the urgency of the matter, after five months of hearings, saying: "We have to start tomorrow, we're running out of time.

"We've got to get the inquest finished."

Noah Donohoe went missing after cycling across the city from his home off the Lower Ormeau Road in South Belfast.

He was last seen at Northwood Road in north Belfast close to waste ground where a culvert entrance to an underground water system is located.

He had abandoned his bicycle and was naked at the time.

The 14-year-old's body was found six days later more than 600 metres downstream in the tunnel system.

The inquest has heard there is no evidence of anyone else being involved in the schoolboy's disappearance and death.

The maintenance of the culvert by Stormont's Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and the PSNI's investigation into Noah's disappearance and death have come under scrutiny at the inquest alongside a wide range of other issues.

The opening day of the inquest heard details of a call to the police from Noah's mother four hours after her son left their home on the evening of his disappearance.

Fiona Donohoe said she had been worried about Noah's mental health in the days before he went missing and she expressed concern for his safety.

The jury has previously watched CCTV footage which was recorded in the early hours of the day of Noah's disappearance, and it showed the schoolboy leaving the family home alone shortly after 03:00 BST on 21 June 2020.

He was subsequently captured on CCTV walking barefoot along nearby streets before he returned home shortly after 04:00 BST.

When he arrived home from the mysterious trip in the middle of that night, Noah didn't have the flip flops or headphones he was wearing when he left his home, and a belt on his shorts was hanging loose.

Within 24 hours, Noah was missing, and a police search was underway to try to find him.