Stephen McCullagh, a YouTuber sentenced to 31 years in prison for murdering his pregnant girlfriend after orchestrating a fake livestream alibi, has filed an appeal against his sentence. The Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland confirmed that an appeal has been lodged.
Details of the Crime
McCullagh, 36, of Woodland Gardens, Lisburn, was found guilty of murdering 32-year-old Natalie McNally at her home on Silverwood Green in Lurgan, County Antrim, on December 18, 2022. McNally was 15 weeks pregnant at the time. The murder occurred after McCullagh staged a livestream of himself playing Grand Theft Auto Online, which he had advertised as a surprise event on his social media channels.
The livestream began at 6pm on December 18, with McCullagh wearing a Santa hat and welcoming viewers. He claimed technical difficulties prevented him from responding to chat messages or using his phone. During the stream, he joked about drinking and driving in the game while pouring a Guinness, adding: "In the game by the way, I'm not leaving the house tonight."
Discovery of the Fake Alibi
Police experts later determined that the six-hour stream had actually been recorded four days earlier and broadcast as live on the night of the murder. Trial judge Mr Justice Kinney described the staged livestream as an “integral” part of McCullagh’s murder plan, carefully curated to provide a complete alibi.
The judge noted that McCullagh had mounted a “concerted effort” to shift blame for the murder to McNally’s ex-boyfriend. In his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Kinney assessed McCullagh’s culpability as “extremely high,” calling the attack “brutal and frenzied.”
Sentencing and Impact
Setting the minimum 31-year term, the judge said it was “difficult to find words” to describe the “abhorrence” of the murder. “The defendant did not just kill Natalie McNally, her unborn child also died as a result of the murderous assault,” the judge stated. He added that the sentence “cannot possibly reflect the value of Natalie’s life, or indeed that of her unborn child, Dean” or fully address the family’s grief.
McCullagh had initially denied the charge but was convicted by a jury during the fifth week of his trial at Belfast Crown Court. The appeal process is now underway.
