A Northern Ireland man allegedly faked a live video game broadcast on a YouTube channel to create an alibi while he stabbed a woman to death, a court has heard.
Stephen McCullagh, 32, from Lisburn, appeared at Lisburn magistrates court on Thursday charged with the murder of Natalie McNally last December. He denies the charges.
Prosecutors alleged the suspect had devised a “sophisticated, calculated and cool-headed plot” and was “capable of deception beyond imagination”.
McNally, 32, who was 15 weeks pregnant, was stabbed multiple times at her home in Lurgan, County Armagh, on 18 December.
McCullagh, a part-time assistant audience editor for the Belfast Telegraph, wore a grey tracksuit and did not speak during the hour-long hearing, which was conducted by video link.
The court heard that McCullagh, who has a YouTube channel with 37,000 subscribers, staged a purported live broadcast of him playing Grand Theft Auto for six hours on the night of the murder. DCI Neil McGuinness said technical examination by cyber-experts indicated the footage was pre-recorded.
The footage appears to show McCullagh telling his subscribers he could not interact with them live due to technical issues.
McGuinness told district judge Rosie Watters that McCullagh denied involvement in the murder but in a written statement to police conceded that the purported live stream was pre-recorded days earlier. A police officer told the court they believe he took a bus to Lurgan on the night of the killing and returned home via taxi.
The court was told that McCullagh was initially arrested after the killing but was ruled out as a suspect on the basis of the purported alibi.
The court heard allegations that McCullagh interacted with the McNally family in the weeks after the killing. The detective told the court the accused left his phone in the home of McNally’s parents and recorded 40 minutes of audio, which police believe was an attempt by McCullagh to find out if the family suspected him.
The court denied an application for bail and McCullagh was remanded in custody. He is due to appear in court again on 24 February.
The killing – on the night of the World Cup final – shocked Northern Ireland and prompted calls for greater efforts to protect women from violent attacks.
Detectives conducted hundreds of house-to-house inquiries and obtained more than 4,000 hours of CCTV footage.
The National Women’s Council organised a rally in McNally’s memory at Lurgan Park on 28 January. Hundreds attended, including the victim’s parents, Noel and Bernie, and her brothers, Brendan, Niall and Declan.
People held placards that said “Justice for Natalie” and “She was only at home”. Others wore pink or blue garments in recognition that she was expecting a baby.
McNally did marketing for the public transport provider Translink. Her killing has devastated her family, who called her kind, generous and fiercely independent.
“Natalie was a remarkable person. From the age of three she lived with type 1 diabetes,” Brendan McNally told the crowd at the rally. “She was delighted to be becoming a mother for the first time. For any young person living with diabetes in Northern Ireland, Natalie is an ideal inspiration.”
