Coroner seeking Noah Donohoe Instagram messages to send Meta court order
A coroner investigating the death of Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe is to send a court order to Meta in a bid to access private messages in the late teenager's Instagram account.
Noah, 14, was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020 – six days after he went missing as he cycled to meet friends.
Advertisement
Coroner Mr Justice Rooney is presiding over the inquest for the St Malachy's College pupil.
Fiona Donohoe and her son Noah. Photo: Family Handout/PA.
Noah's mother, Fiona Donohoe, is hoping to get answers to some of her questions surrounding the death of her son through the inquest process.
At a preliminary hearing in Belfast on Friday, counsel to the coroner Peter Coll KC updated the court on correspondence with Meta about accessing information on Noah's Instagram account.
Mr Coll said there were two levels of access. He said Meta would provide certain data from the account to Noah's next of kin if it was given relevant documents, such as a death certificate. But the barrister said Meta had advised the coroner that in order to secure private Instagram messages, a court order would be required.
Advertisement
Mr Coll made clear that Meta had not indicated whether or not there were any private messages in the account.
The barrister said the process to secure access to any messages that may exist may not be 'straightforward', given Meta was based outside the court's jurisdiction.
But he said that the letter from the US social media company indicated a willingness to engage positively on the issue.
'There is at least a strong possibility that they would, if content with the format and the content of the draft order, that they would seek to comply with it, even if it was not something that could be strictly enforced against them,' he said.
Advertisement
'So hopefully that may provide a way forward.'
Brenda Campbell KC, representing Ms Donohoe, agreed that a court order should be drafted.
Donohoe family barrister Brenda Campbell KC agreed that a court order should be drafted. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA.
'The aim should be to get the fullest information by way of a court order,' she said.
'And the letter (from Meta) certainly leaves open the possibility of co-operation with the matter, notwithstanding that they are out of the jurisdiction.'
Advertisement
Mr Coll cautioned that it had taken some time for Meta to respond to initial correspondence from the coroner.
He added: 'We're slightly in their hands, and it did take quite a period of time, but, in fairness, the response that has come has been helpful, and represents significant engagements on the part of Meta, and that's to be welcomed.'
Mr Justice Rooney told legal representatives that a draft order would be prepared by Tuesday of next week for them to review.
The next preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 17.
Advertisement
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Bridgerton actress who fought off phone thief reveals she 'hit rock bottom' and had a concussion after attacker threatened to stab her in 'life or death' brawl
Genevieve Chenneour has revealed she 'hit rock bottom' after she fought off a phone thief in a 'life or death' brawl. The Bridgerton star, 27, bravely defended herself after Zacariah Boulares, 18, snuck up behind her and grabbed her phone in Joe & The Juice on Kensington High Street, west London, on February 8. The actress is known as rumour-monger Clara Livingston inNetflix period drama Bridgerton. Genevieve has now revealed the difficult time she went through after the attack which also saw her split from her boyfriend of three years. Speaking to The Times, she said: 'After the phone incident and the break-up I just hit rock bottom. Maybe this all has to happen so I can start afresh. 'It's been a major shock for me — and terrifying — but now I can prioritise my career, myself and my friends.' The incident has had a significant impact on Genevieve's life. She has reloacted out of west London where she had been living for seven years and she is fearful of going places alone. 'My doctor later confirmed I had a concussion. I had dizzy spells for weeks afterwards and I was terrified of going out alone. I still am,' she said. The actress said, like most women, she is 'hypervigilant' around men in public spaces but it is now even worse and she doesn't plan on attending any festivals this summer for fear of being around large groups of men 'in minimal clothing'. Around 18 months before the attack on Genevieve, Boulares threatened to behead Aled Jones with a machete as he stole his £17,000 Rolex in Chiswick, west London. The thief, then 16, was locked up for his attack on the Welsh singer in October 2023. But he was released from youth detention early after serving just 14 months of his 24-month sentence. Boulares, who can now be named and pictured after turning 18, has gone on to commit a spate of crimes, including robbing Genevieve. The incident has had a significant impact on Genevieve's life. She has reloacted out of west London where she had been living for seven years and she is fearful of going places alone The thug's extensive criminal history - 12 previous convictions relating to 28 offences - was laid bare after he pleaded guilty on May 29 to stealing her phone and assaulting another customer, Carlo Kurcishi. 'He needs to go to prison and he needs psychological care,' Genevieve said. 'If criminals are not rehabilitated properly they'll likely commit more — maybe worse — crimes.' Appearing on This Morning, Genevieve the whole incident lasted around five minutes in total, with her pinning her attacker to the floor for much of that time. She said: 'It kind of went round the corner and it turned into a full-on scrap with two people [Boulares and his accomplice]. 'And I was threatened with being stabbed so it became a real matter, in my mind, of life and death. 'So, I did things like, I remember kicking him back with my leg to create space in case he had a weapon on him… It was just a life-changing, crazy moment.' The star admitted the horrifying experience left her terrified in the immediate aftermath: 'I didn't want to go outside. 'I mean as a woman we already, I think, have our wits about us around strangers and random men. 'So, to have this happen to me while dealing with that base level that a lot of women have, just made me quite agoraphobic. Leaving the house was really hard.' Genevieve has since spoken to other victims of phone theft, who have told her they felt the same anxiety as her after their experience. 'It opened up so many conversations with people that I know and don't know and I've been really made aware of how many people are living with that anxiety', she explained. 'Men that have had their phone stolen and women. I can only talk from a woman's perspective but I do know that men are dealing with that same level of anxiety.' With mobile phone theft in general on the rise, former Chief Superintendent Parm Sandu joined Genevieve on the sofa to advise people how to react if they find themselves victims of a similar crime. 'Genevieve was very brave and I commend her for that but I would not recommend anybody, anybody fights back. It just isn't worth it', she said. Parm continued: 'You don't know what these people are carrying. They could have a knife, they could have a syringe, they could have any other weapon that they can use on you. 'And if you are the person who's standing between them and their freedom, they are going to kick, punch, use anything that's around them to try and escape and evade that capture.' The former officer explained it is not just the physical handset at stake in a phone theft - but all your banking and identity data that might be stored on it too. She gave viewers some tips, first recommending a mobile phone case with a strap on: 'If you've got a strap around your wrist as well, it's harder for them to snatch it and run.' Every device, Parm explained, has an IMEI number, a unique serial number. She advised people to find out what their number is and make a record of it in case of a theft for easier tracking of the device by police. 'If your phone is taken, report it straightway to your service provider', she advised, as well as contacting your bank. 'And if you can get onto a laptop and you've got Find My Phone, you can deactivate your phone, you can erase your personal data straight away.' Reporting it to police is always advisable too, as it notifies them - and the public - the area is a hotspot for crime, leading them to allocate resources there: 'It will create a reaction from the local police.'
The Sun
34 minutes ago
- The Sun
Married deputy head teacher, 51, ‘had sex with schoolgirl in car & at home while dad was away'
A MARRIED deputy head teacher allegedly had sex with a schoolgirl in his car and at her home while her dad was away. Former assistant head and English teacher John Harvey is accused of having sex with the girl several times. 2 The 51-year-old, who worked at Penryn College in Cornwall, denies the charges. When he was arrested and interviewed by cops, he said it was all "a figment of her imagination", CornwallLive reported. Prosecutor Nigel Wraith said the pair had sex outside school, in his car and even at her home when her dad had been away. Truro Crown Court was told that the teenager had been in love with her teacher but he told her to keep the relationship secret. This was because he was a married man with children and he could lose his job and could go to prison. The prosecutor told the jury that the relationship, which included two pregnancy scares, continued after she left school. It wasn't reported to the police until her friends became concerned. Truro Crown Court was told that there is no question of sexual assault or rape. Harvey is facing two counts of inappropriate sexual behaviour with a 16-year-old girl while being in a position of trust and abusing that trust. The alleged behaviour are said to have occurred several years ago. While the age of consent is 16, this rises to 18 when someone holds a position of trust. This is in order to protect pupils at school from potential inappropriate relationships with teachers.
Daily Mail
41 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tattle Life stalked, harassed and abused me posting pics of my grandchildren and triggering death threats - 'trolling' doesn't begin to cover it
Skincare expert Caroline Hirons opened up about how she was stalked, harassed and abused online by users on a viral gossip site called Tattle Life. The 55 year old, who is the founder of company Skin Rocks, appeared on Wednesday's episode of Lorraine to talk about teen skin care, but ended up touching upon the online forum through her own experience with it. Tattle Life is a 'commentary website on public business social media accounts'. Earlier this week it was revealed that British 'business owner' Sebastian Bond, 41, was confirmed as the secret mastermind behind the website after losing a £300,000 defamation case to influencers Donna and Neil Sands. Lorraine said: 'Caroline, you were one of the people who were horribly affected by this...' Caroline said: 'Not just me. They came after my family. 'The thing with Tattle is, I've had an online persona for 16 years, it started on Twitter like everyone else, then I moved to Instagram. 'We're used to being trolled, the lowest common demonstrator is that you talk about someone's appearance... 'I've had people telling me they're not attracted to me for 16 years, it's water off a duck's back. 'That's not Tattle. Tattle is stalking, death threats, I really need to hammer that message home. 'Everything that site says in terms of we monitor everything, we didn't know this was happening, it's all lies. It's not an untruth, not a mistake. It's lies. 'They have systematically harassed, abused, stalked families, they posted mortgage docs, they've posted of my grandchildren in my home. You have no idea.' She continued: 'Most people are really good people, when you hear of this, "surely a little bit of not everyone is going to like you", "people are going to comment on your appearance, that's what everyone does". 'That is not what this is. I cannot make it clear enough.' Caroline has joined forces with Neil and Donna Sands, and doctor Jess Taylor - and they are going to the government and the police to take a stand on the issue. She added: 'They will be unmasked and this site will come down. 'It has tortured people. Now I am lucky, I'm older, I now have means. If I needed to, I could buy security. 'But there are people out there who have had their mental health destroyed. 'They've had their family stalked. Their children's schooling exposed, they've had people driving by their houses outside. 'This is not your average trolling. 'This is systemic persistent abuse, harassment, it is absolutely the epitome of the worst of society.' Caroline is a qualified aesthetician who boasts 783k followers on Instagram and 253k subscribers on YouTube. She started her career working for Aveda in Harvey Nichols and has now created her own businesses, including being founder of Skin Rocks and co-founder of Beauty Backed. Caroline has released a number of books including Skincare: The New Edit and Teen Skincare. Katie Price has led the celebrities supporting the take down of Tattle Life after the anonymous blogger was unmasked on Monday. Replying to Donna's Instagram announcement post, Katie shared an array of applause emojis before also taking to her Story to raise awareness. Meanwhile psychologist Dr Jessica Taylor took to Instagram on Monday to share that she and Neil Sands were beginning government action against Sebastian and the website itself. And Katie reshared the announcement to her story, which asked the government to begin criminal action against Tattle users. It read: 'Individually, we were victims, but together with the ruling pursued by @neilsands_ and @donnasands_ - we are now unstoppable.' A host of other celebrities also commented on Donna's post as they shared their support after falling victim to the site themselves. Stacey Solomon wrote: 'Thank you. ❤️ for all you've done'. Meanwhile actress Alice Evans commented: 'Hopefully this will encourage more lawyers to take our cases on. 'Maybe we can make up some of the income we lost through their lies.' Influencer Sophie Hinchliffe, who is best known by her online brand Mrs Hinch, penned: 'Oh my gosh I pray this is true. 'The website that has damaged my mental health and harassed me and my family beyond words for over 6 years. 'They've stalked me, lied about me, mocked me and my beautiful children. Accused me of the unthinkable, brainwashed my supporters. Sickening behaviour that I've silently had to put up with every single day. A host of other celebrities including Kady McDermott, Alice Evans, Ashley James and Lauryn Goodman also shared their support Influencer Sophie Hinchliffe penned: 'The website that has damaged my mental health and harassed me and my family beyond words for over 6 years' 'My thread (as I'm sure you've seen) is one of the largest on there , with hourly abuse. I hope to god this site gets taken down. Thank you for all you've done'. Big Brother star Henry Southan added: 'Great news' while Love Island's Tasha Ghouri posted applause emojis. Fellow Love Island stars Kady McDermott and Siannise Fudge wrote: 'Thank you so much'. Ashley James added: 'Amazing!!!' and Sharon Gafka penned: 'Thank you'. Lauryn Goodman commented: 'Well done guys! Amazing work now time for the data … who's been behind those accounts! Thank you so much for taking this on .. it was huge!' After Donna and Neil appeared on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, Lauryn also reposted the video as she commented: 'Can still see the pain @donnasands_ has had to endure, Well done guys @neilsands_'. Responding to Sebastian's comment that he 'strongly denies ruining anyone's life', Lauryn penned: 'I'm sorry the audacity.... SEBASTIAN you have denied it???? DENIED it? 'You had SO much time to respond you ignored and still do. You're actually in contempt of court. Honestly if you don't laugh you'll cry... just call him shaggy from now on "it wasn't me." Even with the piles of evidence.' Thanking Donna and Neil for their work she added: 'We can't thank you both enough and the fight continues.. you kept going even though it took a lot of resources! Warriors'. Tattle's site attracts 12 million visitors a month, and is supposedly aimed at exposing disingenuous influencers who make money from social media. Thanking Donna and Neil for their work she praised them for being: 'Warriors' But it rapidly descended into a paradise for trolls to aim abuse at everyone including Mrs Hinch and Stacey Solomon to mummy bloggers with small followings. Last week restrictions on identifying Sebastian were lifted after Neil and Donna were awarded £300,000 at the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland in 2023 after successfully suing Bond for 'defamation and harassment' in posts aimed at them on the site. For nearly a decade, since the site was set up in 2017, no one knew who ran Tattle Life, with the site's operator going under the fake name Helen McDougal. Many will be now surprised to learn the creator is in fact a man, who is the author and foodie behind plant-based recipe Instagram page Nest and Glow, which boasts 135,000 followers. For the past eight years, the vegan cookbook author he has secretly presided over the site, which makes an estimated £276,770 in Google Ad revenue every six months, according to figures from 2021. Meanwhile, influencers, their partners and even their children, have been on the receiving end of abuse and mockery over their weight and disabilities - while private details such as their home addresses have been shared on the forum.
