The jury in a long-running inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe have been told it is for them to decide whether PSNI errors were made in the search for him and whether they contributed to his death.
When the jury determine the Belfast school boy died is set to significantly impact on how likely it was that any potential error contributed to the death.
Experts have said Noah may have died on the same day he went missing, Sunday June 21 2020, or could potentially have survived until Tuesday.
His naked body was found in a storm drain tunnel in north Belfast by police on Saturday June 27, six days after he left home on his bike believed to have been intending to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of the city.
Mr Justice Rooney emphasised to the jury that only errors which they find happened before Noah died can be attributed as potentially having contributed to his death.
He started his lengthy summing up to the jury of eight men and two women on Thursday, during the 21st week of the inquest, which started in January.
He continued his charge to the jury on Monday morning, and completed it by just before 6pm that evening, adding his thanks to jurors for staying on.
The jury is to be sent out on Tuesday to formally start their considerations.
They have been tasked with reaching unanimous findings by agreeing answers to a questionnaire prepared for them with input from the properly interested parties in the proceedings.
It comes after almost six months of evidence at Belfast Coroner’s Court including 76 witnesses, statements from a further 42 people, as well as maps, video footage, photographs, police logs and expert reports.
Noah, a pupil at St Malachy’s College, was 14 when his naked body was found in the storm drain tunnel in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he left home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of the city.
CCTV evidence and witnesses show that Noah took a detour from his planned route, cycling instead along York Road and ended up on Northwood Road where it is suggested he entered the tunnel via a culvert behind a house.
The inquest was shown CCTV of Noah cycling naked along Northwood Road, and evidence that some residents heard noises including screams on the night of June 21 when Noah went missing.
A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was drowning.
The jury is charged with reaching findings including how Noah came by his death.
Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe, who has led a high-profile campaign for answers around her son’s death, has been present at Belfast Coroner’s Court for every day of the inquest.
On Monday, Mr Rooney told the jury it is for them to assess what police knew, when they knew it, and what they did in response.
“Your role is to consider police actions, and whether they contributed, more than minimally, to his (Noah’s) death,” he said.
The coroner made clear that errors can include something that was done, as as well as something that was not done that “more likely than not contributed to Noah’s death”.
But he said only if those errors took place before Noah died.
Mr Justice Rooney reminded the jury of the evidence they had heard in the case from when Ms Donohoe has first reported Noah missing at 9.44pm on Sunday June 21 and the start of the search, to tracking down CCTV footage of Noah’s journey, witness reports, retrieval of Noah’s phone and laptop and physical search efforts from door-to-door inquiries and searching in the tunnel.
He told jurors that questions have been prepared with input from the properly interested parties for them to answer with their findings around the circumstances in which Noah came by his death, which he said will form part of the record of the inquest.
The questions range from yes or no answers to those that demand narrative responses, and from a factual account of Noah’s death to questions around the actions of police and around the culvert where it is believed he entered the storm drain.
He emphasised their findings should be made on the evidence they saw and heard during the inquest, adding they should take as long as they need to in order to reach their conclusions.
The jury is expected to be formally sent out to start their deliberations on Tuesday morning.
