Noah Donohoe laptop thief caged then set free on the same day

The 33-year-old, who has 194 convictions, told Sunday Life he was willing to retrace the steps he took before finding the bag with Noah's mum Fiona and her legal team.

"I'd like to bring the Donohoe family through my last steps and explain to them about a possible witness at the art college. I'd also appeal to anyone who knows facts, not fiction, to tell Noah's mum what they know," he said.

Paul discovered Noah's rucksack, containing his laptop and schoolbooks, propped up against a wall on York Street in Belfast city centre a short time after the teenager went missing in June. The 14-year-old bizarrely discarded the bag during a cycle journey from his home on the Ormeau Road.

The police said CCTV proved Paul never encountered the schoolboy, whose body was discovered in a storm drain off the Shore Road six days later. A post mortem found that Noah had died from drowning.

The PSNI previously insisted Noah had not been attacked or chased and the coroner has appealed for an end to speculation in the case.

Recalling his movements that day, Paul said: "I walked from Centenary House (a Salvation Army hostel) up through St Anne's Square, where the restaurants and gym are, and up the side of the art college. That's where I found the bag and where I noticed a guy with tattoos looking at it. He could be an important witness and I would ask him to come forward if he hasn't already."

After discovering the rucksack, Paul took it to his flat on Cliftonville Avenue in north Belfast. Instead of handing it into police who were frantically searching for the St Malachy's College pupil, he tried to sell the laptop at a Cash Converters two days later, only for staff to turn him down because he had no photographic ID and the computer was missing its charger.

On June 25 police released images of Noah's bag which a member of staff at the shop recognised. Detectives who examined CCTV from the store identified Paul, who was already being questioned in custody for shoplifting. The rucksack was recovered at the flat of a female friend.

It would be another five months before he was arrested and charged with theft - an offence which he pleaded guilty to last Thursday.

Paul accepts his behaviour was appalling. He is also adamant that Noah's North Face jacket, which has never been recovered, was not inside the rucksack. The schoolboy discarded it minutes after throwing away his bag.

"Anything I can do to help, I will because I feel bad," he said.

His offer of help comes after deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill met with Chief Constable Simon Byrne to discuss Noah's case, saying she had "grave concerns" about the investigation into his death.

Noah's aunt Niamh Donohoe said she hoped the comments would "add renewed vigour" to the police probe.