The State of Us Podcast
A special series from The State of Us podcast following each day of the inquest into 14-year-old Noah Donohoe's death. Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom.
In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain.
Questions about his disappearance and death have dominated headlines for the last five and a half years.
The inquest into Noah's death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case.
In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day.
Contact thestateofus@bbc.co.uk
Episodes to download
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33. Failure of basic policing—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Today
The police officer who missed CCTV footage of part of Noah’s journey gave evidence.
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32. Classified Information—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Yesterday
The jury hears how classified maps were dealt with by police.
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31. Twist in 'missed' CCTV story—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Monday
The camera pointing towards the storm drain was spotted by police.
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30. The mystery of Noah's Instagram—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Last Thursday
Three members of a family deny trying to freeze Noah’s Instagram account.
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29. Drug testing dead bodies—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Last Wednesday
Two scientists gave evidence about the issue of the toxicology reports.
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28. What we can’t tell you—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Legal arguments dominated the day in court.
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Day 27. Were drugs involved ?—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Pathologists are asked if drugs could have been involved in Noah’s death.
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25. 80 missing children a week—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Mon 9 Mar 2026
The jury hears how many children were reported missing the week Noah vanished.
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24. 'Ten police failings'—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Thu 5 Mar 2026
A barrister for the family claims the police coordinator was responsible for 10 failings
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23. Sex offenders investigated—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wed 4 Mar 2026
The jury hears a number of local sex offenders were checked after Noah disappeared
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22. The unlocked hatch—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Tue 3 Mar 2026
The jury hears how police discovered that the hatch to the storm drain was unlocked.
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21. Jury taken to scene—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Mon 2 Mar 2026
The jury left court today to follow Noah’s final journey in person.
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20. 590m into the drain—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Thu 26 Feb 2026
The jury hears about a delay in passing information on Noah’s last known location
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19. Juror in tears—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wed 25 Feb 2026
The jury is played part of a tv documentary which focused on the search for Noah
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18. Reporting ban lifted—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Tue 24 Feb 2026
The jury learns about the man who found Noah’s bag and tried to sell his laptop
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17. Three police theories—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Mon 23 Feb 2026
The jury hears PSNI theories as to why Noah disappeared
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16. Police statement 'completely wrong'—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Two police officers involved in the early stages of the investigation give evidence
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15. Horrific conditions—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wed 18 Feb 2026
A witness who searched the storm drain speaks of the horrific conditions inside
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14. Inside the storm drain—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Footage of the storm drain where Noah’s body was found is shown for the first time
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13. Noah’s missing shorts—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Mon 16 Feb 2026
The jury hears how Noah’s shorts and boxers were never found by police
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12. Police missed key CCTV—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Thu 5 Feb 2026
Day 12 and the Court hears a CCTV camera was missed by police in the search for Noah
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11. More screams—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wed 4 Feb 2026
More witness evidence on hearing screams on the night Noah went missing
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10. First police witness—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Tue 3 Feb 2026
The first police officers to begin the search for Noah were questioned in court today
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9. A scream in the night—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Mon 2 Feb 2026
A high-pitched scream was heard at 3am on the night Noah went missing
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8. Noah cycling naked—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Thu 29 Jan 2026
A key witness tells the inquest how she saw Noah cycling naked on the day he disappeared
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7. Noah falls off his bike—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wed 28 Jan 2026
The jury hears from eyewitnesses who saw Noah fall off his bike in north Belfast
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6. Jordan Peterson's influence on Noah—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Tue 27 Jan 2026
The jury hears Noah was drawn to the psychologist, who is often described as conservative
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5. The unread final message—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Mon 26 Jan 2026
The inquest heard about the days before Noah died from his best friend Jay Tierney
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4. Mother's 999 call—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Fri 23 Jan 2026
The desperate 999 call Fiona Donohoe made when her son went missing is played in court
