Noah Donohoe inquest adjourned after jury fails to reach verdict

Mr Justice Rooney adjourned the Noah Donohoe inquest jury just before 01:00 BST on Friday after it failed to reach a unanimous verdict, leaving a case that began at the end of January unresolved after more than five months. He called the move “unprecedented” at Belfast Coroner’s Court and said the court had “run out of time” to secure agreement.

The jury, made up of eight men and two women, had deliberated for three days since Tuesday morning and spent about 24 to 25 hours weighing the evidence. The judge said four jurors had impending holiday arrangements, which meant the deliberations could not continue with the full panel. He said it would be wrong to press on without all jurors taking part in the completion of the process.

The hearing had already been moved late on Thursday from Laganside Court to the Royal Courts of Justice. The process had asked jurors to reach findings on 10 questions, including the date of Noah Donohoe’s death and whether any errors made by police contributed to it.

Noah Donohoe was 14 when he disappeared in June 2020. His body was later found in a storm drain in north Belfast. Mr Justice Rooney praised the jury for its dedication after the late sitting, pointing to the time they had given to the case and the difficulty of reaching a unanimous view within the available window. The central questions in the inquest will now return later this year.