Sudden change in Noah Donohoe's emotions cannot be explained, inquest hears
PacemakerA sudden change in Noah Donohoe's emotions in the days before he disappeared cannot be explained, an inquest has heard.
Four mental health experts have been giving evidence to the inquest into the death of the schoolboy whose body was found in a water tunnel in north Belfast in 2020.
A joint report was presented to the inquest by Dr Girish Vaidya, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, Dr Richard Church, a consultant psychiatrist, Dr Louise Bowers, a forensic psychologist, and Professor Seena Fazel, a forensic psychiatrist.
The inquest has heard that changes in Noah's behaviour had been observed by his mother, Fiona, in the days before his disappearance and death.
On Tuesday, Dr Bowers explained to the inquest that mood changes can be common in young people, but she said "what appeared to stand out for me" was "the sudden change" in Noah's emotional behaviour.
Dr Vaidya observed: "There was a definite change in his emotional state."
Dr Church said the change in Noah was "not unusual, but unusual for him".
Professor Fazel noted that "there were some changes and there were some symptoms" but he said he didn't think any signs of symptoms reached the threshold of a condition or a diagnosis for mental health problems.
'Particularly unusual'
Dr Vaidya also stated that he believed that the changes in Noah's emotional behaviour was "sadness" rather than depression.
Dr Church said there was an absence of any "clear mental disorder".
Dr Bowers said: "It feels like there is so much we just don't know."
She also focused on Noah leaving his home in the early hours of the morning of his disappearance, during a half hour period from shortly after 03:30 GMT until just after 04:00 GMT.
She said "that appears to be a little bit overlooked" in terms of his reason for leaving his home at that time.
Dr Bowers said he could have left his home at that time for a number of reasons or to meet someone, but she stressed that there "is no evidence of criminal exploitation".
However, she said it was "particularly unusual" and could potentially provide an insight into something that was not related to any mental health problems.
Dr Bowers said she has "a feeling of sadness" that they cannot provide more answers to Noah's mother, Fiona.
'Bizarre event'
Dr Vaidya said there were "a lot of unknowns".
Dr Fazel explained how they agreed on the balance or probabilities to exclude the possibility of a head injury, psychosis, illegal substances, or some other mental disorder as being contributory factors to Noah's disappearance and death.
Dr Church described the case as "a puzzling, bizarre event".
All four mental health experts concluded that Noah was not suffering from an acute mental illness prior to his disappearance on 21 June 2020.
The four specialists also agreed that they do not think Noah was planning to take his own life.
The group told the inquest that they do not believe Noah's disappearance was consistent with drugs, hallucinations, delusional beliefs, or a thought disorder.
'Insufficient evidence'
The hearing was told that there was no evidence that Noah was paranoid or in any way disorientated on his final bike ride.
His ultimate appearance in a naked state before he disappeared was described as "unusual behaviour".
A photo of Noah's runners sitting on a footpath and part of his clothing strewn across a garden wall close to where he disappeared was shown to the coroner Mr Justice Rooney and the jury.
The inquest also heard that medical information provided by Fiona Donohoe, Noah's mother, indicated that she had been "managing a number of stressors" but the four mental health witnesses concluded that there was "insufficient evidence" to determine if her "difficulties" had an impact on Noah's mental health.
The hearing was also told that there was an absence of a detailed mental health history relating to Noah's paternal family.
The inquest has previously heard that his father had lived abroad and did not have a role in his upbringing.
'Kind and funny'
The experts were also asked about Noah's interest in the '12 Rules for Live' book by Jordan Peterson.
Dr Vaidya said it was "just one of a number of books he was fascinated by".
Dr Church said Noah's interest in the book was in line with his "depth and breadth" of interests in other fields such as music, coding, "everything he turned his mind to."
Professor Fasel said he believed the book had positive and negative influences on the schoolboy.
Dr Bowers also spoke about the relationship between Noah and his mother Fiona.
Commenting on documentation she reviewed for the inquest, Dr Bowers described their relationship as "amazing" and added: "It was just beautiful to read."
The inquest also heard about a letter written to Noah's mother after his death in which a friend told her that her son's "knowledge and understanding of the world inspired me".
A teacher at Noah's school, St Malachy's College, where Noah was regarded as a high achieving student, wrote to Fiona saying: "You raised a kind and funny young gentleman."
Fiona Donohoe was joined at Tuesday's hearing by two family members, and she wiped away tears on a number of occasions as the inquest was told about the tributes from some of Noah's teachers and friends.
