Connor McConnell told the Noah Donohoe inquest on Wednesday that he was sick of being harassed, as he was pressed again over information he previously gave about the 14-year-old schoolboy's disappearance and death in north Belfast.
McConnell's latest appearance followed further inquiries by the coroner's office into his earlier evidence. The inquest was told that the person he had named said she never made any Facebook post about Noah's disappearance, while McConnell said he had meant to write down the name of a friend with a similar name and had written the wrong surname.
In February, McConnell said he had been at his mother's house on Northwood Road in June 2020 when he saw Noah cycling naked along the street on the day he disappeared. He also told the inquest that he contacted police that night after seeing a Facebook post from a colleague with a photograph of Noah. It was explained to him then that the Police Service of Northern Ireland had not published details of Noah's disappearance until the early hours of the following morning.
On Wednesday, McConnell was asked to reassure the inquest that the name he had now provided was correct and correctly spelled. He was given note paper to write it down again and hand it to the coroner. The inquest is now expected to make further inquiries based on the new name.
The case turns on two linked questions: whether McConnell really saw a Facebook post about Noah and whether he contacted police on the night he said he did. A statement from one of his friends said the pair exchanged messages about the case at the time, and that McConnell said in those messages that he had contacted police after Noah disappeared.
Noah was 14 when he vanished in north Belfast, and his body was found six days later in an underground water tunnel. The noah donohoe inquest has already heard digital evidence about the boy's final hours, and McConnell's evidence remains one of the disputed pieces the coroner is still testing against later statements and new inquiries.
McConnell told Mr Justice Rooney that his first appearance had been stressful. He said, in words to that effect, that he had been on the stand all day and it had been quite a stressful day. For the inquest, the task now is to decide whether the latest name he supplied clears up the uncertainty or adds another layer to it.
