A YouTuber staged a ‘sinister’ fake gaming livestream to cover up his pregnant girlfriend’s murder – then pretended to discover her body a day after beating and stabbing her to death.
Stephen McCullagh has been sentenced to a life term with a minimum of 31 years after killing Natalie McNally in Lurgan, Co Armagh on December 18 2022.
He had concocted a twisted alibi ahead of time, having pre-recorded himself playing Grand Theft Auto on a Christmas-themed stream he entitled ‘No Time To Die’.
During the stream, he repeatedly told viewers it was Sunday and claimed the ‘live chat’ functionality was malfunctioning – both covering the fact he wasn’t really sat in front of his computer.
In fact, McCullagh used the six hours of fake gameplay to travel to his partner’s home where he beat, strangled and stabbed her to death.
She had logged in to YouTube watch his livestream shortly before he arrived, believing him to be at home. He was there for just 40 minutes.
Ms McNally, 32, suffered three stab wounds to the neck, multiple traumatic blows to the head and injuries consistent with strangulation. She was 15 weeks pregnant with his unborn child, named Dean. McCullagh left her face down in a dog bowl.
Not yet done, he returned to the house a day later and made a mock-hysterical 999 call after ‘discovering’ her body, telling an operator: ‘No… she’s cold. There’s blood everywhere.’
Stephen McCullagh killed his pregnant girlfriend while pretending to broadcast live on his YouTube channel, which had 37,000 subscribers
Natalie McNally, 32, was 15 weeks pregnant when she was violently attacked and killed
McCullagh had pre-recorded a Christmas-themed livestream of himself wearing a Santa hat and playing Grand Theft Auto that he sought to use as an alibi
McCullagh sought to frame his partner’s ex-boyfriend for the murder – and turned to his victim’s family for comfort as he maintained his illusion of innocence.
He attended her wake on Christmas Day at her parents’ home and a public rally in her memory on January 28, where he was described as her ‘loving partner’.
Police had initially ruled him out as a suspect – but at the end of January they arrested him having deduced that the livestream was a fake.
Wearing a grey t-shirt and grey tracksuit bottoms as he stood in the dock, McCullagh was impassive as he was handed a life sentence prison tariff of 31 years by a judge in Belfast Crown Court today.
The fake livestream remained available to view on his YouTube channel – which had 37,000 followers – until he was found guilty of murder in March.
It was described by trial judge Mr Justice Kinney as an ‘integral’ part of his plan to murder his partner, whom it emerged had slept with a former boyfriend in October 2022, two months after she had begun dating the gaming streamer.
She had also been in contact with other men, one of whom had asked if she and McCullagh were planning to break up.
Prosecutors suggested that he may have been driven to kill her after seeing the messages. He had previously assaulted a former ‘on-off’ girlfriend after she had shared intimate images with another man.
He has never given any explanation for his actions – and had even been comforted by his victim’s family at her wake on Christmas Day.
In a social media post written weeks after killing Ms McNally, he wrote: ‘I don’t think I ever will fully be myself again. I’ve just lost too much. But I’m still here.’
The judge said his culpability for the attack was nevertheless ‘extremely high’, describing his attack as ‘brutal and frenzied’.
He told the murderer: ‘Stephen McCullagh, you have committed a brutal and senseless murder. 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.’
McCullagh gave no reaction as the sentence was handed down, and Ms McNally’s loved ones watched in silence as he was led from the dock before hugging one another.
Speaking outside court, Ms McNally’s father Notel said he hoped the sentence would act as to deter others from committing violence against women and girls.
‘Over the past three and a half years, our family have been through unimaginable pain and grief from the loss of our beautiful Natalie,’ he said, alongside his wife Bernie.
‘Today is not a celebration of the sentence handed down as Bernadette, my boys and myself are serving a life sentence since the murder of our beloved Natalie, but hopefully it will serve as a deterrent to help stop violence against women and girls in this country.’
Ms McNally’s parents Noel and Bernie (pictured above with a photograph of her) said they hoped the sentence would serve as a deterrent against violence towards women
A social media post McCullagh made advertising his livestream – another element of what prosecutors called his ‘sinister’ plan to cover his tracks
Stephen McCullagh is seen on a bus heading towards his girlfriend’s house in Lurgan – where she was about to tune into his fake livestream believing it was real
Prosecutors said they have never encountered a murder with ‘such a level of premeditation’ after McCullagh recorded himself playing video games, drinking Guinness and eating crisps for six hours.
Catherine Kierans, of the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland, said it had been ‘absolutely chilling’ to watch the pre-recorded broadcast knowing what he was planning to do in its wake.
‘We’re dealing with a domestic murder, then you’ve got these really unusual features, the level of planning, the premeditation here was off the scale,’ she said.
‘I have been a lawyer for 27 years. I’ve never seen a case like this in terms of domestic murder with such a level of premeditation, planning, thinking of every possible aspect, the wearing of a disguise, the forensic awareness, the framing of the ex-partner.’
McCullagh was snared thanks to CCTV evidence that showed him travelling from Dunmurry to Lurgan before returning home via taxi after missing the last train home, where he was seen disposing of clothing in a bin that was emptied the next day.
Phone data also showed that his mobile phone was ‘inactive’ during the killing, Ms Kierans said, only to be reactivated upon his return home.
McCullagh is seen walking along the street late at night on Sunday – shortly after beating and stabbing his girlfriend to death
McCullagh later sought to further cover his tracks with a self-indulgent social media post in which he said: ‘I’ve just lost too much. But I’m still here’
Bodyworn footage shows the moment McCullagh is arrested for the first time – before police let him go, initially discounting him as a suspect
She added that she considered the fake livestream – which included references to murder – was ‘sinister’: ‘I found the six-hour video to be absolutely chilling, because we know that it was made as an alibi with this murder in the planning.
‘We will never know, because McCullagh has not explained himself, but we have to assume that everything in that video is intentional and deliberate.
‘[We have to assume] these apparent references to murder, to Natalie, that they are intentional, and that’s really chilling, because you think there’s a level of brazenness, there’s a level of enjoyment, potentially.’
At the heart of the case, however, was ‘the brutal murder of a young woman’ who should not be forgotten, she added.
‘Natalie was pregnant, she had everything to live for, a very intelligent woman, vibrant, full of life, full of excitement about her little baby coming, and, you know, we never lost sight of that, and we’re just so pleased that we got justice for her family.’
