An inquest into the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe heard a witness retract a prior claim that he had been injected with heroin or naloxone before his death. The witness described the information as a rumour with no factual basis.

Noah Donohoe, a pupil at St Malachy's College, left home on his bike on June 18, 2020, to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of north Belfast. His naked body was found six days later in a storm drain tunnel. A post-mortem examination determined the cause of death as drowning. No toxicological evidence showed drug influence, though absolute certainty was not possible.

The inquest at Belfast Coroner's Court entered its 12th week on Wednesday. Maria Nolan testified about possessing Noah's laptop, found missing along with his backpack and coat. She received it from Daryl Paul on June 24, 2020, to sell at Cash Converters for drug money. Nolan accompanied Paul but did not know the laptop's origin or Noah's disappearance at the time.

Cash Converters declined the sale without a charger and alerted police. Officers later recovered the laptop from Nolan's room at Queen's Quarter Housing on University Street, across from the Donohoe family home. Both Nolan and Paul faced convictions for handling the stolen laptop. Nolan described Paul as a friend, not a partner.

Nolan first heard the injection rumour in August 2020 during an assault by a woman. She saw a green coat resembling Noah's in Paul's home when he took the laptop. Police seized the laptop one or two nights after she obtained it but did not mention Noah or ask about his disappearance. Nolan, who used drugs at the time affecting her memory, learned the connection later.

In earlier statements prepared with the Donohoe family's legal team, Nolan referenced addict community talk of the injection. She later said she felt pressured to sign, knew only about the laptop, and had no knowledge of Noah's fate. She denied meeting Noah or witnessing any robbery or attack on him.