A Co Antrim man convicted of murdering his pregnant partner is set to be sentenced. 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 had been 15 weeks pregnant when she was subjected to a violent attack and murdered at her home in Lurgan in December 2022.
McCullagh denied the murder, claiming he had been live-streaming himself playing computer games on his YouTube channel at the time. However, police experts discovered the six-hour stream had actually been filmed four days before and broadcast as live on December 18.
A sentencing hearing in May was told that McCullagh made “self-contradictory” and “incredible” statements to his probation officer, first insisting he “was convinced that he was not guilty of the murder”. The probation officer further noted McCullagh described the murder as “evil” and “vicious”, and referred to himself as “a monster”, the court heard. He also said: “I’m sorry for what I did to that poor family, what I did to Natalie.” He added: “I would take it back if I could.”
Trial judge Mr Justice Kinney is expected to deliver the sentence tariff later.
