Stephen McCullagh was found guilty of the Natalie McNally murder at Belfast Crown Court and expressed regret at his sentencing hearing. Natalie was pregnant when she was killed
The man convicted of murdering his pregnant partner, Natalie McNally, has labelled himself a “monster” and expressed remorse, according to information shared at a sentencing hearing.
Stephen McCullagh, 36, from Woodland Gardens, Lisburn, refuted the murder charge, but was found guilty by a jury at Belfast Crown Court earlier this year after a five-week trial. Ms McNally, 32, was 15 weeks pregnant with their son when she was killed at her home in Lurgan in December 2022.
During a sentencing hearing on Thursday, it was revealed that McCullagh made “self-contradictory” and “incredible” statements to his probation officer, initially asserting he “was convinced that he was not guilty of the murder”.
McCullagh, dressed in a blue T-shirt, glasses and grey trousers, attended the hearing, sitting in the dock, while Ms McNally’s family observed from the public gallery.
Prosecution barrister Charles MacCreanor KC stated: “When the jury came back so quickly, he only then began to suspect that he might be responsible, although he cannot make sense of the murder.”
Speaking about Ms McNally, McCullagh reportedly said: “I don’t remember feeling the need for her to die,” as per the probation report. The probation officer also noted that McCullagh described the murder as “evil” and “vicious”, and referred to himself as “a monster”, the court was told.
He also expressed: “I’m sorry for what I did to that poor family, what I did to Natalie,” and “I would take it back if I could.”
McCullagh reportedly claimed he “wants to be part of the solution” and “to be a mentor for other men”, which prosecutors said contradicted the killer’s earlier attempts to blame Natalie’s death on her former partner.
“He was assessed as causing a high likelihood of further offending,” Mr MacCreanor said, referencing the probation report. “There is no evidence of any insight into his behaviour. He will require long-term risk management, including long-term interventions.”
The court heard that McCullagh fabricated an alibi claiming he had been live-streaming himself playing computer games on his YouTube channel when Ms McNally was killed on December 18 2022.
However, police specialists uncovered that the six-hour stream had actually been recorded four days earlier, and transmitted as live on December 18.
Mr MacCreanor KC said the killer had delivered a “staged performance” following the murder. He said Ms McNally had suffered severe and widespread injuries during a “brutal assault”.
He said this included the compression of her neck, as well as stab wounds to her neck and blunt force trauma to her head consistent with at least five heavy blows.
He said either the compression or the stab wounds could have caused her death on their own, but there was difficulty in determining the final sequence of events. Mr MacCreanor informed the court that McCullagh had staged an “orchestrated show” as the person who alerted authorities to her death, initially leading police to believe he was overwhelmed.
He added: “That of course was all a staged performance by him, one that he may have thought he had gotten away with.” He suggested this was part of a “front” which demonstrated the “callous, premeditated nature” of the crime.
Mr MacCreanor stated McCullagh had no trouble concocting a false alibi and shifting blame onto another individual – Ms McNally’s ex-boyfriend – while portraying himself as a victim who lost his pregnant partner.
Referring to the fabricated “Violent Night” livestream, he said: “The craft of his false alibi was significant.” He claimed it was part of efforts to evade detection in his “murderous plan”.
Defence barrister John Kearney KC contended that McCullagh’s minimum term could fall within the 15 to 16 years starting point. He further told the hearing there was no evidence the murder of Ms McNally contained elements of “punishment or humiliation”, as prosecution argued – notably that she was found with her face in a dog bowl.
Mr MacCreanor countered by telling the court Ms McNally had also suffered a stab wound to her pelvic area, near to “where her unborn child was developing at the time”, which he said was a “specific act” by McCullagh.
Trial Judge Mr Justice Kinney is expected to deliver the sentence tariff at a hearing on June 3.
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