It cannot be ruled out that Noah Donohoe may have had drugs in his system at the time of his death, toxicologists have told an inquest.
Forensic analysts said there was no evidence that the schoolboy was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but the presence of some substances including so-called “designer drugs” cannot be excluded because of the limits of testing.
Noah, a pupil at St Malachy’s College, was 14 when his naked body was found in a 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 Belfast.
Forensic scientist Amy Eleanor Quinn, who carried out a toxicological analysis on samples from Noah’s body in July 2020, gave evidence to the inquest at Belfast Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, alongside Dr Simon Elliott, consultant forensic toxicologist, who carried out a review and further testing of samples in November 2024.
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In a joint statement they agreed that Quinn had found evidence of a small amount of alcohol in Noah’s blood but that this was consistent with having been generated by the body after death and there was no reason to believe he had consumed alcohol in the hours before he died.
They further agreed “there is no toxicological evidence that the deceased was under the influence of drugs at the time of his death within the range of screening performed”.
They also agreed that “it is not possible to exclude that drugs not included in the scope of analysis may have been present at the time of his death”.
Reiterating there is no toxicological evidence that Noah was under the influence of drugs at the time of his death, they added “this cannot be stated with absolute certainty” as “many drugs exist outside the scope of testing performed in this case and the instability of drugs” must be considered.
[ Police ‘gripped’ seriousness of Noah Donohoe search at early stage, inquest toldOpens in new window ]
Quinn read a statement in which she confirmed she had tested Noah’s blood sample for a range of drugs including methamphetamine, ecstasy, benzodiazepines, cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, opiates and fentanyl, as well as pharmaceuticals such as antidepressants and paracetamol, none of which produced a positive result.
She confirmed that some hallucinogens such as LSD or “magic mushrooms” were not included in these tests.
Elliott said
that “specifically due to their chemical structure”, many synthetic cannabinoids such as that commonly referred to as “spice” are unstable and “may not be detected in postmortem samples”.
In questions put to Quinn before Wednesday, she listed some of the possible side effects of spice, which include paranoia, psychosis, hallucination and depersonalisation, as well as physical impacts including a lack of balance or co-ordination.
Donal Lunny KC, barrister for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), presented a police log from October 2021, when Quinn had been approached about the possibility of spice being relevant in Noah’s case.
The officer recalled the conversation, where Quinn outlined there were “countless different variants” of the type of drug, making it “near impossible” to look for in toxicology.
Under questioning from barrister Brenda Campbell, who is representing Noah’s mother, Fiona Donohoe, Elliott said he has worked on “hundreds” of cases involving synthetic cannabinoids, since the drugs grew to prominence in the late 2000s.
Asked if he agreed that, “in broad terms”, Noah’s behaviour was consistent with having taken spice, he said yes.
He said he had not personally seen the CCTV footage “but in terms of adolescent individual who in the space of 20 minutes essentially has no clothes, he’s falling off his bike” is “not a common occurrence” and therefore there “does seem to be some disconnect between the normal function of an individual”.
