Man seen as Noah cycled past later found with his laptop, inquest told
The inquest into Noah Donohoe's death has revealed that he cycled past a man who was subsequently found in possession of his laptop during the early part of his journey on the day he disappeared.
However, the inquest was informed that there was no interaction between Noah and the man on that day.
A barrister representing Fiona Donohoe, Noah's mother, stated that CCTV footage captured Daryl Paul standing on the street as Noah cycled past the Queen's Quarter housing building shortly after the schoolboy left his home off the Ormeau Road in south Belfast on the evening of 21 June 2020.
Daryl Paul, from Cliftonville Avenue, had previously pleaded guilty to stealing a rucksack containing Noah's laptop and schoolbooks after finding it.
At the time, Paul's lawyer asserted that his client had no personal contact with Noah at any point and that the theft was "opportunistic".
The judge in that case was also informed that Paul led a chaotic lifestyle, with issues related to drink and drug abuse that required medical treatment.
Sentencing Paul to three months in jail, the judge clarified that no penalty was being imposed in relation to the ownership of the stolen items.
CCTV footage shown
During the inquest on Tuesday morning, CCTV footage was presented showing various stages of Noah's final bicycle journey from south Belfast to his last known location in the north of the city.
One of the initial pieces of CCTV footage showed the schoolboy cycling along University Street, a short distance from his home, heading towards the lower Ormeau Road.
The Donohoe family barrister explained to the coroner, Mr Justice Rooney, and the jury, that Daryl Paul could be seen standing outside the Queen's Quarter housing building along University Street at the same time Noah cycled past shortly after leaving his home.
Describing it as "a massive coincidence," the barrister noted that Paul found Noah's laptop later that day on the opposite side of the city, near the final stages of Noah's journey into north Belfast before he went missing.
The lawyer detailed the sequence of events during cross-examination of a PSNI witness.
Detective Sergeant Gardiner, part of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigating Noah's disappearance, was responsible for coordinating the collection of CCTV footage after the CID took charge of the case three days following Noah's disappearance on 21 June 2020.
He was questioned extensively about gaps and timing inconsistencies in the collection of CCTV footage along Noah's route from his home until he was later seen naked before his disappearance in north Belfast.
Gardiner was asked whether locating and reviewing additional CCTV footage could have helped place Daryl Paul in the area.
He accepted that it could have assisted the investigation if taken in isolation.
However, he emphasized that the investigation's primary goal was to determine if "an event" occurred along the route that caused Noah to part with his belongings.
Gardiner also explained that due to "finite resources," prioritization of different aspects of the investigation was necessary, with officers deployed to "other jobs and other duties" as part of the inquiry.
The witness further told a barrister for the PSNI that he did not believe he had ever had "so many people" dedicated to CCTV aspects of an investigation.
Reporting restriction lifted
Following the evidence presented on Tuesday morning, the coroner agreed to lift a reporting restriction related to Daryl Paul that had been imposed the previous day.
A barrister for Paul informed the coroner on Monday that there was no physical interaction between his client and Noah when the schoolboy cycled past.
He also stated that Daryl Paul was captured on CCTV on Botanic Avenue shortly after Noah's last known sighting, indicating he could not have had contact with Noah in north Belfast.
The barrister referred to "rumours" suggesting Daryl Paul might have interacted with Noah in north Belfast, stating,
"that cannot have happened".
He asserted that the evidence showed Paul was on "the other side of the city" while Noah cycled towards his last known destination.
A barrister for Fiona Donohoe said this matter is not disputed and is not being contested, while a barrister for the coroner noted it was "the first time it's been spelt out" categorically that this is not in dispute.
