A section of a police interview conducted with a man accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend was played to a jury today (Friday).
Lurgan woman Natalie McNally was beaten, stabbed and strangled in her Silverwood Green home on the evening of Sunday December 18, 2022.
The father of her unborn child, 36-year old Stephen McCullagh from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, has been accused of and has denied her murder.
During the 14th day of a trial into her murder at Belfast Crown Court, a video recording of a portion of an police interview following his re-arrest was played.
The jury of six men and six women have already heard McCullagh was arrested the night after the murder, released from custody the following evening and on December 24 his solicitor was informed that he had been released from his bail and had been de-suspected.
McCullagh was re-arrested at the end of January 2023 and on January 31; and February 1 he was interviewed eight times.
Throughout most of the interviews, on the advice of his solicitor, he declined to answer the questions and gave a ‘no comment’ response.
These questions which McCullagh declined to answer included whether he was aware Ms McNally was texting other men when she was at his home on Saturday, December 17 or if he was near or at her home on the evening of Sunday, December 18.
He was also asked whether he had any concerns about Ms McNally’s ex-boyfriend, his IT skills and whether he was at home live streaming on YouTube the night Ms McNally was murdered.
McCullagh was also asked, and refused to answer, what made him drive to her home on the evening of December 19, the 999 call he made and whether or not he performed CPR on her.
In addition he was asked if he used public transport or a taxi on December 18, his clothing and whether or not he owned a beanie hat.
He also answered ‘no comment’ when asked how he felt about Ms McNally’s pregnancy, whether they were in an open relationship and why he conducted internet searches on vasectomy procedures.
During an interview conducted on February 1, McCullagh told police he never had access or keys to Ms McNally’s house then spoke about the “trauma” of December 19.
He told police “I keep replaying coming up the stairs and finding her … I remember the paramedics coming up the stairs and saying ‘I’m sorry, there’s nothing more we can do.’
“And the next thing I know I was in the back of a police car … and four police officers are standing there and saying I was under arrest on suspicion of murder.”
A recording of a portion of another interview conducted on the evening of February 1 was then played to the court.
In it, McCullagh was told that officers from the PSNI’s cyber crime unit had examined his computer and determined that when he claimed he was live streaming from 6pm to midnight on Sunday, December 18, there was no user activity on his laptop.
He was also shown CCTV footage of a male getting into a taxi in Lurgan that evening and a male getting out of the same taxi at his address.
He was then told by an police officer that the ‘person of interest’ got a bus from Dunmurry to Lurgan at 7.37pm then walked from Lurgan centre and arrived at Silverwood Green at 8.52pm.
The officer said the person of interest spend 39 minutes in Ms McNally’s home then walked back into Lurgan before getting into a taxi which dropped him off in Lisburn at 11.13pm.
After being shown a clip of this male getting out of the taxi at Woodland Gardens in Lisburn and walking up the path to his house, McCullagh was asked “is that you?” to which he replied “no comment.’
Asked “if that’s not you, who was it?”, he again replied “no comment.”
He was then told by the officer that “our enquires so far” suggested “that you are the male on the CCTV and we believe that male on the CCTV is the person who murdered Natalie.”
Asked if he had “any explanation” for how Ms McNally sustained the fatal injuries, McCullagh once again said “no comment.”
The jury also heard details of a pre-prepared statement provided to police by McCullagh towards the end of the interview process.
In it, McCullagh described the case against him as “circumstantial” and said the CCTV footage “never clearly shows the identity of the person and I deny it is me.”
He also denied owning a pair of trainers worn by the person of interest and said that as he was a smoker and had asthma he would “struggle to walk the distances” taken by the perpetrator.
Regarding the male getting out of a taxi from Lurgan to Lisburn outside his house, McCullagh said: “It seems that the suspect did take a taxi to my house.
“I have no idea who this person was but I think it is obvious that the true killer of Natalie has left a clear circumstantial trail to link me to the murder.
“I have no idea where they went after they entered my property but they could easily have jumped a fence and made their way out without being seen.”
In his statement, McCullagh also admitted he had recorded the stream on the night of December 14th and into the early hours of the 15th then put it out on YouTube on Sunday 18th.
He claimed that on the evening of Sunday 18th he had consumed Buckfast, Guinness and Bailey’s and that Ms McNally would be disappointed in him as he promised he wouldn’t drink until their baby was born.
McCullagh also said: “I was asleep for most of the evening following the consumption of alcohol.”
In addition to McCullagh’s interviews with police, the contents of messages exchanged between Ms McNally and three men were also read to a jury.
In an exchange with a male referred to as ‘B’ which started just after midnight on December 16, 2022 she is asked by B is she wanted to meet in Belfast for a drink.
Ms McNally replied that she was pregnant so ‘can’t have any pints’ and later described herself as ‘single and pregnant’ and that her family were ‘over the moon.’
An exchange with a male referred to as P, which started on June 12, 2022 and ran onto December 17, 2022.
Sections of this series of messages with P include sexually explicit texts and images being sent.
P messaged her again in December 9 asking how she was. She replied about preparing for Christmas and when he asked if there was ‘any romancing’ she replied ‘quite a big bit of romancing’ and sent him an image of her baby scan.
P congratulated her and when he asked if her and McCullagh were ‘together’, she replied ‘we’re figuring it out. I like my independence so for now anyway I’m just doing my own thing’ to which he replied ‘no point acting happy families if you don’t want it.’
She also told P ‘I have a good job and a house so I really don’t need to reply on anyone else so I’m not going to rush into a family set-up. I’m happy as I am.’
In a third exchange with a male referred to as ‘C’ she messaged about doing her own thing and when asked by C ‘are you going to break up with him?’ she replied ‘ack no, I wouldn’t do it before Christmas. That’s just me. I’ll see how I feel in the New Year.
When C asked Ms McNally about her partner, she said ‘seeing a good bit of each other. There’s nothing wrong with him, I’m just feeling a bit uneasy.’
The jury was also told that an audio recording of the McNally family which lasted 39 minutes and seven seconds was taken on January 26, 2023 and located on McCullagh’s phone.
Holly McNally, who is married to one of Ms McNally’s brothers, was then called to the witness box.
She confirmed she was in the McNally family home on January 26, 2023 and recalled McCullagh calling that day and that the family were organising a rally for her.
Mrs McNally confirmed McCullagh stayed for a couple of hours, left then returned around 20 minutes later.
She said she saw him at the window and went to the front door and that he told her he had forgot his phone so she told him to go and get it.
Before they left for the weekend, the jurors were addressed by Mr Justice Kinney who warned them not to carry out their own research or discuss the case with anyone else
He said: “Enjoy the weekend and we will see you again on Monday morning.”
At hearing.
The trial so far…
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Natalie McNally murder trial: Texts between three males and victim read to jury
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Natalie McNally murder trial: Ex-partner’s girlfriend tells jury ‘we did not plan any sort of alibi’
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Ex-boyfriend denies killing or that he ‘recruited’ anyone to help him murder Natalie McNally
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Natalie McNally trial: Ex-partner recalled being told ‘she’s been murdered’ in Snapchat message
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‘You killed her’: Ex-boyfriend tells accused in court during Natalie McNally murder trial
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Ex-partner tells court she was ‘slapped and punched’ by Natalie McNally murder accused during late-night car journey
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‘He just kept howling and crying’: Best friend of murder accused tells court of call on night Natalie McNally was found dead
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Natalie McNally trial: Mum breaks down in court as she recalls only daughter’s murder
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Man accused of murdering Natalie McNally told police ‘aggressive’ ex-boyfriend had been harassing her
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CCTV footage concerning ‘person of interest’ shown to jurors at Natalie McNally murder trial
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Cyber expert tells trial there was ‘extensive evidence’ live stream was pre-recorded
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YouTube ‘live stream’ made by man accused of Natalie McNally murder played for jury
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Natalie McNally subjected to ‘prolong assault’ and likely her unborn child ‘died as a result’, says pathologist
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Dog bowl beside head of Natalie McNally ‘almost like it had been used to collect the blood’, murder trial hears
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Constable ‘tried to console’ accused who was ‘distraught’ at scene
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Jury hears 999 call from man accused of killing pregnant partner
