Murder of Natalie McNally was ‘planned, calculated, pre-meditated’, trial hears

The murder of a pregnant woman in Co Armagh a week before Christmas in 2022 has been described as “planned, calculated and pre-meditated”.

Natalie McNally, 32, was 15 weeks’ pregnant when she was attacked and died in her home in Lurgan.

Stephen McCullagh, 36, of Woodland Gardens, Lisburn, has denied her murder.

He sat in the dock at Belfast Crown Court between two prison guards on Monday morning as the trial got under way.

Family and friends of Ms McNally are watching on from the public gallery.

A jury of six men and six women have been sworn to serve during the trial, which is expected to last for around five weeks, before Judge Mr Justice Patrick Kinney.

Prosecuting barrister Charles MacCreanor KC said it is their case that the defendant murdered Ms McNally and then “put on an act” to cover his tracks.

This included suggesting that an ex-partner of Ms McNally’s had been responsible, telling police there was “blood everywhere”, and that “someone had knocked 10 bells out of her by the look of it”.

Giving an outline of the evidence that will be heard during the trial, Mr MacCreanor contended that McCullagh, known on the online platform You Tube as Votesaxon07, concocted a “cover story” that he had been livestreaming himself playing video games on the evening of Sunday December 18.

But it is the prosecution case that McCullagh had pre-recorded six hours of himself playing video games which he broadcast as live that Sunday evening, and instead he took a bus to Ms McNally’s home in Lurgan.

McCullagh’s distressed sounding 999 call on the night of Monday December 19 was also played during the first day of the trial.

“We say that this is a planned, calculated, pre-meditated murder by the defendant,” Mr MacCreanor put to the jury.

“One which he hoped to get away with.

“Natalie McNally had suffered serious and multiple fatal injuries.”

He said her cause of death was found to have involved compression of her neck, “suggestive of finger tips grasping”.

She also suffered three stab wounds to her neck caused by a bladed weapon and five lacerations to the back, top and right of her head “in keeping with having sustained at least five heavy blows”.

He said any of these could have caused death alone.

He went on: “Natalie McNally was pregnant at the time and Stephen McCullagh was the father of her unborn child.”

The time of death has been estimated to be between 8.50pm and 9.30pm on Sunday December 18 2022.

McCullagh made a 999 call at around 10pm on Monday December 19 from her home in Lurgan, and told police the last time he saw Ms McCullagh had been on Sunday afternoon.

“On the prosecution case, this call is false, it’s an act, it’s put on by him, part of his plan to do the murder and get away with it,” Mr MacCreanor KC said.

He said the ambulance service and police were quickly at the scene, and reported finding McCullagh with Ms McNally.

“Natalie McNally is lying at the top of the stairs … which was the living area of the home,” he said.

“It’s clearly apparent to paramedics that Natalie McNally is dead, everything is consistent with this being an attack upon her, presence of blood and the visible injuries.

“Stephen McCullagh is described by the paramedics as performing CPR to the female and he’s described as being quite visibly upset.”

He said police described McCullagh as being “distraught and overcome”.

“Again, we say this is all part of an act, a front,” he said.

During the 999 call, McCullagh is heard audibly upset and sobbing as he asked for emergency services to come to Ms McNally’s address in Lurgan, urging: “Please come as soon as you can”.

The operator talks McCullagh through how to position Ms McNally and administer CPR compressions as he waited for paramedics to arrive, encouraging him to “keep going”, telling him he was giving her the best chance.

The trial continues.