Stephen McCullagh sentenced to 31 years for Natalie McNally murder

Stephen McCullagh has been sentenced to at least 31 years for murdering his pregnant partner Natalie McNally.

McCullagh, 36, from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, County Antrim, has denied murdering Natalie, who was killed in her Silverwood Green home in Lurgan on 18 December 2022.

He was found guilty in March, after a trial lasting more than four weeks.

Sentencing McCullagh on Wednesday, Mr Justice Kinney said: "Natalie was strong, loving and an independent young woman."

As McCullagh was led from the dock, Natalie's family, holding a picture of her, hugged each other and sobbed.

The 31 year sentence is the minimum term McCullagh must serve in custody before he can be considered for release by parole commissioners.

Before handing down the sentence, Mr Justice Kinney described the crime as "a brutal and senseless murder planned in remorseless detail, cold-blooded and calculated".

He said Natalie's family had suffered "a depth of pain that those of us who have not cannot understand".

He praised their demeanour as "exemplary" and said that, despite all obstacles, they faithfully followed and participated in proceedings and were an essential part of getting justice for Natalie.

Mr Justice Kinney said Natalie knew what she wanted from life and was "intelligent, passionate and funny".

• As it happened: follow our live updates on the sentencing

Explaining the sentencing, Mr Justice Kinney spoke about aggravating factors, including the level of planning involved in the murder of Natalie.

He discussed the faked livestream McCullagh attempted to stage as an alibi, as well as his manipulation of other people, including Natalie, her family, his own friends and the police.

"This was not a spontaneous murder but a planned out one," he said.

"Domestic violence is a grave reoccurring phenomenon of our society."

Describing the attack itself as "brutal and frenzied", the judge said McCullagh knew Natalie's unborn child would also be killed.

"The defendant did not just kill Natalie McNally. Her unborn child also died as a result of the murderous assault.... he knew that her baby at such an early stage of pregnancy would have no chance of surviving the attack."

He added that McCullagh's attempt to implicate an innocent third party - Natalie's ex-boyfriend - was another factor.

The way McCullagh travelled to Natalie's house, plotting his route with travel timetables is also mentioned.

All of this, said Justice Kinney, made McCullagh's culpability "extremely high".

Speaking outside the court, Natalie's father Noel described the family's "unimaginable" pain and grief.

"Today we don't celebrate," he said, adding that he and his family now serve "a life sentence" since the murder of "beloved" Natalie.

He said he hoped the 31 years given to McCullagh would deter other men from carrying out violence against women and girls across Northern Ireland.

He asked for privacy for him and his family, before thanking everyone - family, friends, the community in Lurgan and beyond - for their kindness and support.

He also thanked the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for the conclusion of the trial.

Catherine Kierans, the Head of the PPS Serious Crime Unit, who prosecuted the case, said McCullagh "has shown absolutely no remorse".

"(McCullagh) went to extraordinary lengths to plan and carry out this callous domestic murder," she said.

Kierans also praised the McNally family.

"The respect and dignity they have shown is truly remarkable.

"They have shown courage and resilience throughout," she added.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness, the senior investigating officer in the case, said McCullagh "masqueraded as a caring partner".

"This woman - a much-loved daughter and sister - was 15 weeks pregnant and excited to be planning the rest of her life as a mother," he said.

Natalie was 32 when she was beaten, strangled and stabbed in her home.

It was the prosecution case that, although McCullagh has never explained his actions, it is likely that his motivation for the murder was reading messages sent by Natalie to other men in the weeks before her death.

Some of these messages were sexually explicit in nature whilst others discussed potentially breaking up with McCullagh.

It was confirmed that McCullagh had the PIN for Natalie's phone.

An online content creator, much of the case centred on McCullagh's production of a pre-recorded six-hour online gaming stream which he outputted on YouTube on the night of Natalie's murder.

He presented this as live and continue to do so for 44 days and eight police interviews at which point police proved it had been pre-recorded.

The prosecution said the recording gave McCullagh time to travel to Lurgan by bus and on foot to Natalie's home.

After his brutal attack he changed clothes and, although it is thought he had intended to catch a train home he missed it, instead taking someone else's taxi to his front door.

He travelled to Lurgan the following evening to 'discover' her body and make an emotional 999 call.

He also pointed the finger at Natalie's former partner.

That man was arrested, interviewed and extensively cross-examined at McCullagh's trial.

During the investigation police secured, seized and studied thousands of hours of CCTV footage which they say charted McCullagh's journey to and from the crime scene.