Evil killer who staged fake YouTube livestream while he murdered pregnant girlfriend jailed for 31 years

AN evil killer who staged a fake YouTube gaming livestream while he murdered his pregnant girlfriend has been handed a life sentence prison tariff of 31 years.

Stephen McCullagh, 36, of Woodland Gardens, Lisburn, was found guilty of the murder of Natalie McNally by a jury at Belfast Crown Court earlier this year.

The 32-year-old was pregnant with McCullagh’s child when the jury found he killed her at her home in Lurgan in December 2022.

The judge setting the tariff for McCullagh said it was “difficult to find words” to describe the “abhorrence” of his murder of Natalie.

Mr Justice Kinney said: “The defendant did not just kill Natalie McNally, her unborn child also died as a result of the murderous assault.

“The defendant was fully aware that Natalie was pregnant. He intended to kill her and he knew that her baby, at such an early stage of the pregnancy, would have no chance of surviving the attack.”

Ordering McCullagh to stand before he set the 31-year prison term, judge Mr Justice Kinney said the sentence passed “cannot possibly reflect the value of Natalie’s life, or indeed that of her unborn child, Dean” or meet the family’s sense of “grief and loss”.

He said: “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.

“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.”

McCullagh gave no reaction as he was told he must serve 31 years before he can be considered eligible for release by the Parole Board for the murder of his pregnant partner.

There was silence in the public gallery filled with Ms McNally’s family and friends as they watched McCullagh being led from the dock following the hearing at Belfast Crown Court.

As the door closed behind McCullagh, many in the public gallery turned and hugged each other.

McCullagh’s staged YouTube live stream of him playing computer games on the night he killed Natalie was an “integral” part of his plan of murder her, the judge said.

McCullagh had denied the murder to detectives, claiming that he had been live-streaming on his YouTube channel at the time.

But police experts discovered the six-hour stream had actually been filmed four days before and broadcast as live on December 18.

The judge said the staged live stream had been “carefully curated to appear as if it was streaming live and to provide the defendant a carefully-planned complete alibi to the murder”.

And McCullagh mounted a “concerted effort” to pass the blame for murdering Natalie to her ex-boyfriend, the trial judge said, and highlighted that McCullagh spent time with Ms McNally’s family in the aftermath of her death.

The judge said McCullagh presented to the family as “devastated, distraught and shocked”.

Mr Justice Kinney said: “When he first arrived at the house on Christmas Day, during Natalie’s wake, the family brought him in and comforted him.

“They allowed him to spend extensive time alone with Natalie, ostensibly to grieve for her.”

The judge said when considering the tariff he assessed McCullagh’s culpability as “extremely high”, describing the murder as a “brutal and frenzied attack”.

Speaking outside court, Ms McNally’s father Noel said his family are already serving a life sentence following the loss of “our beloved Natalie”.

He said they hoped the sentence would serve to deter others from violence against women and girls.

He said: “Over the past three-and-a-half years, our family have been through unimaginable pain and grief from the loss of our beautiful Natalie.

“We would just like to thank everyone who has helped us get to here today – all our family and friends, the whole community of Lurgan, Craigavon and throughout this country and beyond for all the kindness and support we have received.

“We would also like to thank the PSNI and the prosecution service for getting us to the conclusion here today.

“Today is not a celebration of the sentence handed down as Bernadette, my boys and myself are serving a life sentence since the murder of our beloved Natalie, but hopefully it will serve as a deterrent to help stop violence against women and girls in this country.”

He added: “With respect, we are now asking for some privacy as we continue to grieve.”