Stephen McCullagh sentenced to life for murder of pregnant girlfriend Natalie McNally after fake YouTube alibi unravels

The sentencing

Stephen McCullagh showed no reaction as Mr Justice Kinney imposed a 31-year minimum term at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday. The judge described the killing as a "brutal and senseless murder" planned in "remorseless detail." McCullagh was found guilty after a five-week trial earlier this year for the murder of Natalie McNally, who was 15 weeks pregnant at the time of her death in December 2022.

Stephen McCullagh, you have committed a brutal and senseless murder. You planned this murder in remorseless detail. You attacked someone you profess to love in a frenzied assault, which was characterised by its excessive and gratuitous violence.

The public gallery, filled with Ms McNally's family and friends, remained silent as McCullagh was led from the dock. After the door closed behind him, many embraced one another. The judge acknowledged that the sentence "cannot possibly reflect the value of Natalie's life, or indeed that of her unborn child, Dean," nor meet the family's sense of "grief and loss."

The fake alibi

McCullagh's defence rested on a seemingly solid alibi: he claimed to have been livestreaming a Grand Theft Auto gaming session on YouTube at the time of the murder. Police initially believed him after YouTube confirmed the broadcast had played out as live, and he was released following his arrest at the scene on 19 December 2022.

Six weeks later, cyber experts dismantled the alibi. They proved McCullagh had secretly pre-recorded the six-hour gaming stream four days in advance and then played it out to appear live. This gave him cover to travel from Lisburn to Lurgan in disguise, kill his pregnant girlfriend, and return home before the stream ended.

McCullagh was very confident of avoiding justice for this, and was playing the role of the victim across his friendship group, across the McNally family and the public in Lurgan.

After the murder

While posing as the heartbroken boyfriend, McCullagh attended Natalie's wake, visited her grave, and made a memorial video for a vigil in her honour. He also sent texts asking about her wellbeing and made an emotional 999 call after the discovery of her body, during which he immediately pointed suspicion toward Natalie's ex-boyfriend. Throughout this period, he secretly recorded interactions with the McNally family in an effort to gather information about the police investigation.

Despite that frenzy, the killing was cold-blooded and calculated, as evidenced by the extensive planning leading up to the murder and your actions afterwards. Your behaviour towards the McNally family showed your absolute determination to cover your tracks.

The investigation

When detectives confronted McCullagh in a police interview room weeks after the murder, they told him they knew his alibi was false. McCullagh pushed back, insisting the stream was visible on YouTube. But police had the forensic evidence to prove the broadcast was pre-recorded, and from that moment the content creator's deception collapsed. PSNI senior investigating officer Neil McGuinness noted that McCullagh had been "very close to getting away with murder."