County Lines is where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries (although not exclusively), usually by children or vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs - National Crime Agency
A boy is missing. He had told his mum that he was going to meet some friends at Cavehill.
He was a compliant child with a strong relationship with his mother. He always kept in touch with her when out. As the day wore on with no word from him, his mother Fiona Donohoe went and got a friend to come with her to look for him in the Cavehill area at 7pm on Sunday 18 June 2020. It happened to be Father's Day but Fiona was a single parent and this is thought to be of no consequence to Noah's investigation.
At 8pm mom Fiona called the police to report her boy missing. To their credit the PSNI already had a car in the area and were able to respond within minutes. On the Monday the child's bike is found and an investigation began. The police were treating this as a missing person case. They looked at CCTV of him leaving his Fitzroy Avenue home, on his bike with his bag on his back. He's seen again in the Queens Quarter coming out of one street without his bag. There is CCTV footage of him where - instead of going his usual route - he takes a detour. He is seen again in the Tigers Bay and Northwood Road area. This is not an area where young Catholic boys would be found. It's noted that a young boy, naked - abandoning his bike on a Sunday afternoon - and no calls were reported to police. A peculiarity of the north of Ireland as communities here are still hesitant to call the police. Old scars run deep.
On Monday the 18th his bike is found. The police in the CCTV could see that he was not followed, and didn't have a hunted look about him: they are still treating this as a missing person case. In fact they offer the bike to the family but they refuse to take it back, seeing it as evidence. The police then left the bike outside the police station in pouring rain, losing any forensics on it. At one junction the boy is seen to fall off his bike. The trauma of the fall hitting his head led to speculation about the possibility of mental health issues. The helmet he was wearing was not dusted for prints or forensically treated either. Donal MacIntyre has seen this helmet, and also knew that the mother had reported him being a bit out of sorts in the few days leading up to his disappearance. But there were no mental health issues before this. Interestingly one expert found that people who run away during a mental health episode usually travel in a flat or downward position. Part of Noah's journey was uphill. This suggests that Noah was going somewhere by request.
On Monday the 18th his bike is found. The police in the CCTV could see that he was not followed, and didn't have a hunted look about him: they are still treating this as a missing person case. In fact they offer the bike to the family but they refuse to take it back, seeing it as evidence. The police then left the bike outside the police station in pouring rain, losing any forensics on it. At one junction the boy is seen to fall off his bike. The trauma of the fall hitting his head led to speculation about the possibility of mental health issues. The helmet he was wearing was not dusted for prints or forensically treated either. Donal MacIntyre has seen this helmet, and also knew that the mother had reported him being a bit out of sorts in the few days leading up to his disappearance. But there were no mental health issues before this. Interestingly one expert found that people who run away during a mental health episode usually travel in a flat or downward position. Part of Noah's journey was uphill. This suggests that Noah was going somewhere by request.
In Norwood Road one person reported that Noah was seen taking off his top. His clothes were found in one area but scattered over a few houses. One person picked them up and placed them outside one house. Even at this stage the PSNI are still treating this as a missing person case and stored the clothes in an open bag at the police station where any officer could walk to look or rummage through them, again leading to a loss of any forensic value. Donal MacIntyre says it is unforgivable that a naked child abandons his bike on a Sunday afternoon and the PSNI did not have the wit to bag the clothes and put them away for forensic examination. According to police this naked very slim boy then dashed behind houses where there was a storm drain with a heavy lock, and opened it to get inside.
The child's body does not support this. Except for some minor scratches on his knees and feet, Noah's body was in a pristine condition. This drain was like a tunnel underground going all the way down under Crusaders football ground and then down the Shore Road toward Belfast Lough. In the upper part of the drain the water was pure mountain water but as it went downward it became contaminated from sewage overflow. Noah's death is recorded as drowning, but no water was taken from where he was found to compare with the water in his lungs. A high ranking officer was photographed by a journalist with a long lens looking down a manhole two days before Noah was found nearby, leading to a theory the police were running a shadow investigation. However the police said that this officer was only there to encourage the troops.
Two and a half years later the police release to the family lawyers information that they have footage of Noah leaving his home around 3am and was gone for thirty five minutes. He left home wearing M&S flip flops and earphones but returned home without them. Obviously this has been known to the police very early on when Noah had first gone missing. Why then was there not a public appeal at that time?
The child's body does not support this. Except for some minor scratches on his knees and feet, Noah's body was in a pristine condition. This drain was like a tunnel underground going all the way down under Crusaders football ground and then down the Shore Road toward Belfast Lough. In the upper part of the drain the water was pure mountain water but as it went downward it became contaminated from sewage overflow. Noah's death is recorded as drowning, but no water was taken from where he was found to compare with the water in his lungs. A high ranking officer was photographed by a journalist with a long lens looking down a manhole two days before Noah was found nearby, leading to a theory the police were running a shadow investigation. However the police said that this officer was only there to encourage the troops.
There are questions also to be asked about the Coroner. He came out in August 2020 and said there was no evidence of a third party, and we may never know what happened resulting in it being recorded as death by misadventure. In 2020 the coroner commissioned an Oxford university expert for a psychological assessment of this. But he did not include this new evidence of Noah leaving home. This in turn disenfranchised the expert report. Did the coroner leave out this primary evidence knowingly, or was it also not released to him?
One police officer that was involved in the Stephen Lawrence case said that this kind of policing does not inspire trust and opens the door to conspiracy theorists. Chris Driscoll went on to say if you cannot tell the family something due to operational reasons then tell the family that. This is what he did with the Lawrences and they understood that. Tell them - they will find out in due course. This is the kind of policing that inspires trust. Surely due to the history of the PSNI you would think they'd rather have this kind of policing - open and transparent - but they failed to do even basic police work. The family had nothing to do with this child's death so why hide this evidence from them for over two and a half years?
Donal MacIntyre says that he has no doubt the PSNI will try to ambush the inquest with more evidence that will upset the family. The result of all of this is that Noah did not get the investigation he deserved. Journalists will bring expert eyes on this and be able to investigate the investigation.
"Journalists can make a difference" - Donal Macintyre.
One police officer that was involved in the Stephen Lawrence case said that this kind of policing does not inspire trust and opens the door to conspiracy theorists. Chris Driscoll went on to say if you cannot tell the family something due to operational reasons then tell the family that. This is what he did with the Lawrences and they understood that. Tell them - they will find out in due course. This is the kind of policing that inspires trust. Surely due to the history of the PSNI you would think they'd rather have this kind of policing - open and transparent - but they failed to do even basic police work. The family had nothing to do with this child's death so why hide this evidence from them for over two and a half years?
Donal MacIntyre says that he has no doubt the PSNI will try to ambush the inquest with more evidence that will upset the family. The result of all of this is that Noah did not get the investigation he deserved. Journalists will bring expert eyes on this and be able to investigate the investigation.
"Journalists can make a difference" - Donal Macintyre.
⏩Kate Yo is a Belfast book lover.
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