Man says he was awoken by 'white flash' on the night Noah Donohoe went missing
Last updated 4th Feb 2026
A man has told the Noah Donohoe inquest that he was woken by a "white flash" on the night the Belfast schoolboy went missing.
Grant Brown, who lives in Premier Drive in north Belfast, told the court that he was sleeping downstairs when he was woken by his wife, who had heard screaming.
Mr Grant's statement said: "I got up and we both went into our back garden.
"I took a look about couldn't see anything.
"That's when I heard the sound of a muffled scream. It sounded like a girl's scream, it didn't sound as if it was close by."
Mr Brown said he returned inside and fell back asleep on the downstairs sofa.
He added: "At around 3am I woke up.
"A white flash like a torchlight flashed in my kitchen window."
Meanwhile, a police officer gave an account of some of the events surrounding the disappearance of Noah that was "materially different" to that of the schoolboy's mother, a barrister has told the inquest.
Noah, a pupil of St Malachy's College, was 14 when he was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after leaving home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of the city.
One of the constables involved in the search for Noah gave evidence to the inquest for a second day. Proceedings began with discussion about a statement made by the constable in January 2021.
In the statement, the officer said Ms Donohoe described Noah as "very weepy" before he went missing and said she had requested his school arrange counselling for him.
Brenda Campbell KC, who represents Noah's mother Fiona, said this had not featured in his notes or the police log from the period when Noah was missing.
The court was shown a transcript of Ms Donohoe's 999 call on Sunday June 21 2020 and from her statement to the inquest. Ms Campbell said the constable's statement gave a "materially different" account of events to that which Ms Donohoe had given in her evidence.
The officer said the statement was based on his recollection from the time.