Man who murdered pregnant partner while faking livestream as alibi jailed for 31 years

A YouTuber who set up a false alibi by livestreaming a video-gaming session online has been sentenced to 31 years in prison for the “cold-blooded and calculated” murder of his pregnant partner.

Stephen McCullagh, 36, of Lisburn, County Antrim, showed no emotion on Wednesday as he was sentenced at Belfast crown court for the murder of Natalie McNally, a crime that chilled Northern Ireland.

The trial judge, Mr Justice Kinney, said it was “difficult to find words” to describe his “abhorrence” at the brutal attack. McCullagh stabbed, strangled and bludgeoned McMcNally, 32, at her home in Lurgan on 18 December 2022.

“You planned this murder in remorseless detail,” the judge said. “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.”

Natalie McNally ‘had everything to live for, a very intelligent woman, vibrant, full of life, full of excitement about her little baby coming’, said the prosecutor. Photograph: PSNI/PA

While the attack unfolded, a prerecorded session of McCullagh playing Grand Theft Auto ran on his YouTube channel to give the impression he was spending the night at his own home 17 miles away. Recorded four nights earlier, he wore a Santa hat, ate snacks, drank Guinness and made jokes. “I am not leaving the house tonight,” he said in the broadcast.

A prosecutor said the case was chilling. “I’ve never seen a case like this in terms of domestic murder with such a level of premeditation, planning, thinking of every possible aspect, the wearing of a disguise, the forensic awareness, the framing of the ex-partner,” said Catherine Kierans, assistant director in the Public Prosecution Service. She called the alibi an “elaborate charade”.

After the discovery of McNally’s body, police arrested McCullagh, but they released him after learning of the broadcast. He suggested a previous boyfriend had committed the murder. McCullagh, appearing grief-stricken, was welcomed at McNally’s wake and given time alone with the coffin to say goodbye.

When police established that the purported livestream was prerecorded, officers re-arrested and charged McCullagh. He was convicted in March after a that heard he had worn a disguise and gloves on his way to McNally’s home.