A 36-year-old man was handed a life sentence today (Monday) after he was convicted by a jury of murdering his pregnant partner in her own home.
Stephen McCullagh showed no emotion as a jury of six men and six women unanimously found him guilty of murdering Natalie McNally.
The jury took just over two hours to reach its verdict and, after it was delivered by the foreman, Ms McNally’s loved ones started cheering in the packed public gallery of Belfast Crown Court.
Ms McNally was 32 years old and 15 weeks pregnant when she was beaten, strangled and stabbed by the father of her unborn son in her Silverwood Green home in Lurgan between 8.50pm and 9.30pm on Sunday, December 18, 2022.
Following the jury’s verdict, trial judge Mr Justice Kinney told Ms McNally’s family: “I know it’s a very emotional time … but please, if you could just calm down.”
He then addressed McCullagh, from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, as he stood in the dock and said: “Stephen McCullagh, you have been convicted of the murder of Natalie McNally and for that offence I impose a sentence of life imprisonment on you.
“A date will be set for the settling of a minimum tariff on that sentence.”
In a trial which spanned five weeks, the jury was presented with evidence which included CCTV, witnesses called to the box and social media messages.
The jury heard evidence from Ms McNally’s parents, her ex-boyfriend and also from a former partner of McCullagh’s who recalled how he slapped and punched her in his car following a row they had after he found sexual messages with another man on her phone.
It also emerged during the trial that McCullagh recorded a counselling session she had in his home following the loss of their child, which she didn’t know was being recorded.
The 12 members of the jury were also played sections of a so-called live stream which McCullagh used as an alibi to both the police and Ms McNally’s family in the aftermath of the murder he committed.
Entitled The Violent Night Christmas Live Gaming Stream, it appeared on McCullagh’s YouTube channel between 6pm and midnight on Sunday 18 December 2022.
After a forensic examination of McCullagh’s computer, experts from the PSNI’s cyber crime team determined that this six-hour stream was not in fact live at all but had been recorded some days before.
When this evidence was put to McCullagh early in 2023, in a pre-prepared statement he admitted to police he had recorded the stream on the night of 14 December and into the early hours of the 15th, then put it out on YouTube on Sunday the 18th.
He claimed that on the evening of Sunday the 18th he had consumed alcohol and slept, and that Ms McNally would be disappointed in him as he had promised he wouldn’t drink until their baby was born.
The jury also heard the 999 call McCullagh made the evening after he murdered her.
After calling to her home on Monday 19 December 2022, at 9.59pm McCullagh made a hysterical 999 call telling the operator: “Please come as soon as you can.”
McCullagh was told to perform CPR and during the call he also said to the operator: “She’s pregnant,” and when asked how many weeks, he said: “I think it’s 15, we have a scan tomorrow.”
The jury also heard a sobbing McCullagh tell the operator: “She’s cold,” and “There’s blood everywhere.”
In his closing speech, Crown barrister Charles MacCreanor KC asserted that McCullagh had “lied and lied again” and branded this 999 call as “an act, a put-on” and “part of his plan to do the murder and get away with it.”
He said McCullagh was the “person of interest” captured on CCTV in both Lisburn and Lurgan on the evening of the murder and the male who got into a taxi in Lurgan and was dropped off at 11.13pm at McCullagh’s address.
This same male, who the jury accepted was McCullagh, was also captured on CCTV throwing two objects over a hedge before walking in the front gate of his home.
Whilst McCullagh declined to give evidence, defence barrister John Kearney KC said it was his client’s belief that his pregnant partner was murdered by her ex-boyfriend and that McCullagh was innocent.
This ex-boyfriend, the jury heard, had been in contact with Ms McNally right up to the day of her murder, with sexually explicit messages exchanged between the two.
Mr Kearney spoke of “gaps and holes” in the “circumstantial” case against his client and said there was “no identification evidence” nor any clothing comparison or gait analysis.
The jury ultimately rejected McCullagh’s defence and convicted him of murder.
Before they left the court, the jurors were addressed for a final time by Mr Justice Kinney, who thanked them for their “diligence, commitment and patience” during the “distressing” trial.
After excusing them from future jury service, the senior judge said: “Thank you again, you may now leave the court.”
As the jurors made their way out of Court 13, the McNally family took to their feet and applauded them as they left.
The family was addressed again by Mr Justice Kinney, who thanked them for the dignity they displayed during the legal proceedings.
He then thanked both the Crown and defence and set a date for the tariff hearing as 15 May.
As McCullagh was led from the dock and back into custody in handcuffs by prison staff, he walked past the family who were all on their feet but who remained silent.
Before leaving the court, the family also applauded the Crown’s legal team.
The trial day by day…
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Judge tells jury they must decide in Natalie McNally murder trial as case edges closer to conclusion
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Murder accused believes ‘always and forever’ that killer was Natalie McNally’s ex boyfriend, court hears
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Natalie McNally murder accused ‘has lied and lied again’, prosecution says during closing arguments
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Accused Stephen McCullagh refuses to give evidence or call witnesses
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Section of police interview with Natalie McNally murder suspect played to jury
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Natalie McNally murder trial: Texts between three males and victim read to jury
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Natalie McNally murder trial: Ex-partner’s girlfriend tells jury ‘we did not plan any sort of alibi’
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Ex-boyfriend denies killing or that he ‘recruited’ anyone to help him murder Natalie McNally
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Ex-partner recalled being told ‘she’s been murdered’ in Snapchat message
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‘You killed her’: Ex-boyfriend tells accused in court during Natalie McNally murder trial
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Ex-partner tells court she was ‘slapped and punched’ by Natalie McNally murder accused during late-night car journey
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‘He just kept howling and crying’: Best friend of murder accused tells court of call on night Natalie McNally was found dead
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Mum breaks down in court as she recalls only daughter’s murder
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Man accused of murdering Natalie McNally told police ‘aggressive’ ex-boyfriend had been harassing her
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CCTV footage concerning ‘person of interest’ shown to jurors at Natalie McNally murder trial
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Cyber expert tells trial there was ‘extensive evidence’ live stream was pre-recorded
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YouTube ‘live stream’ made by man accused of Natalie McNally murder played for jury
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Natalie McNally subjected to ‘prolong assault’ and likely her unborn child ‘died as a result’, says pathologist
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Dog bowl beside head of Natalie McNally ‘almost like it had been used to collect the blood’, murder trial hears
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Constable ‘tried to console’ accused who was ‘distraught’ at scene
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Jury hears 999 call from man accused of killing pregnant partner
