Natalie McNally murder trial jury shown police interview with accused
Ms McNally, 32, was 15 weeks pregnant when she was killed at her home in Lurgan on December 18 2022.
A jury has watched a police interview with the man accused of the “premeditated” murder of Natalie McNally.
In a video played at Belfast Crown Court, detectives put it to Stephen McCullagh that they believe he is the man in CCTV footage on the night Ms McNally was killed.
Ms McNally, 32, was 15 weeks pregnant when she was killed at her home in Lurgan on December 18 2022.
Her partner, McCullagh, 36, of Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, is on trial for her murder at Belfast Crown Court.
He has denied the charge.
On Friday afternoon, extracts from police interviews with McCullagh were read to the court. In the interviews he replied “no comment” to a series of questions.
The jury then watched a video of McCullagh’s final interview with police on February 1 2023 when he was accompanied by his solicitor.
In the footage, he was shown GPS maps of a taxi journey from Lurgan to Lisburn on the night Ms McNally was killed.
He was then told that a male got into a taxi in Lurgan and travelled to his address at Woodland Gardens.
The detective asks: “Is that you?”
McCullagh replies: “No comment.”
The detective is then seen telling him that the person is seen on CCTV getting out of the taxi outside his house.
He responds: “No comment.”
The detective then says police believe the person in the taxi is the person who killed Natalie McNally.
McCullagh says: “No comment”.
The detective then says McCullagh had been “telling the world” he would be livestreaming a video gaming session between 6pm and midnight on the night Ms McNally was killed.
She says: “You gave the appearance of being at home playing Grand Theft Auto.”
In the video she then tells McCullagh his devices had been examined and there was no user generated activity between those times.
McCullagh answers: “That is literally impossible because you can see it on YouTube.”
He then responds with “no comment” when asked to explain why there was no activity on his computers.
The detective then tells McCullagh that three minutes after a person is seen getting out of a taxi and entering his home, his mobile phone becomes active again.
The detective says the male on the CCTV had gone to “extensive lengths” to plan the murder and said it appeared to be “premeditated”.
She tells him a male got a bus from Dunmurry to Lurgan, walked to Ms McNally’s house and went inside for 39 minutes.
The detective says: “In those 39 minutes Natalie is killed by injuries consistent of compression of the neck, stab wounds of the neck and blunt force injuries to the head.”
She says the male then leaves the house, walks back into Lurgan and takes a taxi to McCullagh’s house.
She says: “Everything from our inquiries tells us you are the male in the CCTV and we believe that male in the CCTV is the person who murdered Natalie.”
Asked if he can provide any explanation for Ms McNally’s injuries, McCullagh replies “no comment”.
Following the conclusion of the police interview, the jury was told McCullagh provided a statement to police in which he said the case against him was “entirely circumstantial”.
He denied in the statement he was the male in the CCTV footage.
He said the suspect seemed to have taken a taxi to his house.
He added: “I think it is obvious the true killer of Natalie has left a clear circumstantial trail to link me to the murder.”
Defence barrister John Kearney KC then cross-examined Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness, the PSNI senior investigating officer in the case, about the interviews.
Earlier, the jury in the trial was read agreed evidence, which included exchanges of messages between Ms McNally and other men in the months before she was killed.
The court heard on December 16 she had responded to a message from a man known as Male B and informed him she was pregnant.
She said: “I am single but still pregnant.
“I know it is not a typical situation but I am delighted to have a baby by myself.”
Male B said: “Just think next Christmas you’ll be a mummy. How cool.”
Ms McNally replied: “I know, it’s so exciting. My family are over the moon.”
Ms McNally had sent messages to another man, Male C, on December 11.
She said: “I just like doing my own thing and now I have to make plans all the time with this person, can’t be bothered.”
Male C responded: “Are you going to break it up?”
She said: “No, I wouldn’t do it before Christmas, that’s just mean. I’ll see how I feel after the New Year.”
In a later message she added: “Maybe it will be OK. I just like my space, maybe he will be happy enough giving me a few weeks by myself to chill.
“There’s nothing wrong with him, I’m just feeling a bit uneasy.
“Well, I’ll make no rash decisions.”
The jury was then told McCullagh had created a note on his mobile phone on November 8 which said Ms McNally had been speaking to her mother about what to do with her house if she moved in with him.
It read: “Could tell she is apprehensive as it is such a big change, wants to be close to her family.
“Sees this place as my house and not hers. I told her she can do to this place whatever she likes as I trust her.
“Didn’t acknowledge that I am putting work in to making space for both her and the baby.”
The jury was then told McCullagh had conducted internet searches on December 18 on Translink’s website about late-night bus and train services to Lurgan and surrounding areas.
The court also heard police had located on McCullagh’s phone an audio recording lasting 39 minutes and seven seconds which was made in January 2023 in the McNally family home.
Holly McNally, who is married to Ms McNally’s brother Niall, then gave witness evidence.
She told the court she had been in the McNally family home “most of the time” in the days after the murder.
She said there had been a crowd in the home on January 26 organising a vigil in memory of Ms McNally, which was to take place two days later in Lurgan.
The witness said McCullagh had been at the home and she had offered to cook him dinner and made him welcome.
She told the court he had stayed for a couple of hours before leaving.
She said he then returned to the house within 20 minutes.
She said: “I saw it was him and I said ‘oh God he is back, I wonder is he OK.’
“I got up and went to the front door to meet him.”
The witness said he told her he had forgotten his mobile phone.
He retrieved it and left, the court heard.
The trial will resume on Monday.
