Man faked GTA stay stream whereas he killed pregnant ex and left her face down in canine bowl
Stephen McCullagh’s staged YouTube live stream of him playing computer games on the night he killed Natalie McNally was an ‘integral’ part of his plan of murder her, a judge said
A man who pretended to host a live stream on Grand Theft Auto while he murdered his pregnant ex partner has been jailed for 31 years. Stephen McCullagh, 36, of Woodland Gardens, Lisburn, was convicted of the murder of Natalie McNally by a jury at Belfast Crown Court earlier this year.
The 32-year-old victim was 15 weeks pregnant when she was subjected to a brutal assault and killed at her home in Lurgan in December 2022. McCullagh denied the murder, claiming that he had been live-streaming himself playing computer games on his YouTube channel at the time.
However, police experts found that the six-hour stream had actually been recorded four days prior, and broadcast as live on December 18. In it, he consumed alcohol, used profanity and at one moment repeatedly yelled at a game character to die.
In the footage, he told fellow players: “I’m not leaving the house tonight,” and said he wouldn’t be able to interact on the live chat due to “technical difficulties.”
McCullagh’s six-hour livestream, promoted on his social media as a surprise from 6pm, was titled The Violent Night Christmas Live Gaming Stream. The broadcast began with him sporting a Santa hat, greeting viewers, and discussing the challenges of live broadcasting, admitting he didn’t know how long it would go on for.
Meanwhile, while the recording was playing, he disguised himself and caught a bus to Lurgan before walking to Natalie McNally’s home where he killed her. He subsequently took a taxi home before returning to 32-year-old Miss McNally’s residence on the evening of December 19, when he placed a 999 call.
The court heard Miss McNally endured a “brutal and frenzied” attack, including stab wounds to the neck, strangulation and severe blows to the head.
The prosecution has argued that her murder was “planned, calculated and premeditated, one which he (McCullagh) hoped to get away with.” He even mounted a “concerted effort” to pass the blame for murdering Natalie McNally to her ex-boyfriend.
Previously, the jury had been presented with a knife discovered at the murder scene, along with a piece of paper containing details about Miss McNally’s diabetes, a metal bowl, and photographs of McCullagh’s residence.
Prosecution barrister Bobbie-Leigh Herdman read aloud portions of agreed facts to the court. These encompassed numerous WhatsApp messages sent between McCullagh and Miss McNally in the days leading up to her death.
During the exchanges on December 14, which appeared warm and loving in nature, the couple chatted about work, Christmas decorations and Miss McNally’s pregnancy and forthcoming maternity leave, complete with smiley face emojis.
Messages from December 18 were also presented, with Miss McNally confirming her safe arrival home, and McCullagh playfully ribbing her about whether she would reach her parents’ house in time for the World Cup France vs Argentina fixture.
They continued messaging throughout the match, before at 5.57pm McCullagh announced he was “off to stream the night away, wish me luck”, prompting Miss McNally to respond: “Good luck, I might have a peek at your livestream later.”
Trial judge Mr Justice Kinney said McCullagh’s staged YouTube live stream was an “integral” part of his plan and 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”.
Ordering him 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”.
“Stephen McCullagh, you have committed a brutal and senseless murder,” he said.
“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.”
