Court watches alleged killer’s ‘faked’ Grand Theft Auto livestream alibi

The trial of a man accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend Natalie McNally has been shown his allegedly fake video game livestream from the night of her death.

Belfast Crown Court watched an hour of footage of Stephen McCullagh purportedly live broadcasting himself playing the game Grand Theft Auto, while drinking alcohol, swearing and at one point repeatedly shouting at a character in the game to die.

Police believe Miss McNally, 32, was killed at her home in Lurgan on the night of December 18 2022.

McCullagh, 36, of Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, who has denied murdering his girlfriend Miss McNally, who was 15 weeks pregnant with their son, broadcast the livestream on the same evening in a bid, the prosecution said, to prove he had not left his house.

The prosecution contend this livestream was pre-recorded and broadcast as live on December 18, while McCullagh disguised himself and took a bus to Lurgan and walked to Miss McNally’s house where he killed her.

They say he later got a taxi home before returning to Miss McNally’s house on the night of December 19, when he made a 999 call.

Earlier this week, the trial at Belfast Crown Court heard Miss McNally was subjected to a prolonged assault, including stab wounds to the neck, strangulation and heavy blows to the head.

The prosecution has contended her murder was “planned, calculated and premeditated, one which he (McCullagh) hoped to get away with”.

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

On Wednesday, McCullagh sat in the dock wearing a grey-coloured T-shirt between two prison guards, not far from the public gallery packed with family and friends of Miss McNally.

McCullagh’s six-hour livestream, advertised on his social media as a surprise from 6pm, was called The Violent Night Christmas Live Gaming Stream.

The footage opened with the then 32-year-old, known on You Tube as Votesaxon07, wearing a Santa hat, welcoming viewers, and talking about the challenges of broadcasting live, saying he did not know how long it would last.

He said due to technical issues he would not be able to respond to the live chat, telling viewers to “chat amongst themselves”, and also said he would not use his phone.

He introduced the game Grand Theft Auto as one of his childhood favourites, and as he poured himself a Guinness, joked he would be drinking and driving, but added: “In the game by the way, I’m not leaving the house tonight.”

McCullagh also said he had not had a drink in months, before drinking a large portion of the glass, adding: “I could drink that stuff like it’s water.”

He later started drinking Baileys.

As the stream went on, McCullagh said: “I’m a very angry gamer by the way.”

And later, he appeared to be becoming drunk, screaming “die, why won’t you die” at one of the characters in a violent part of the game, and referred to himself as “pissed out of his tits”.

He also said he “realised I’m a very angry drunk”, but added: “In real life, I’m an absolute sweetheart.

“I don’t have too many loved ones in my life, but the ones I love, I love with all my heart.”

He mused about time off work over Christmas and said he was looking forward to spending time with loved ones, adding: “It’ll be a really f****** good Christmas this year.”

Earlier, the jury was shown a knife found at the scene of the murder, as well as a sheet of paper containing information about Miss McNally being diabetic, and a metal bowl, and photographs of McCullagh’s home.

Barrister Bobbie-Leigh Herdman for the prosecution, read out sections of agreed facts to the trial.

These included a number of WhatsApp messages exchanged between McCullagh and Miss McNally in the days before her death.

During the messages on December 14, which sounded friendly and affectionate in tone, the pair discussed work, decorating for Christmas and Miss McNally’s pregnancy and upcoming maternity leave, with smiley face emoticons.

Messages on December 18 were also read out, with Miss McNally confirming she had got home safely, and McCullagh teasing her about whether she would make it to her parents’ house in time to watch the World Cup France vs Argentina match.

They exchanged more messages during the match, before at 5.57pm McCullagh said that he was “off to stream the night away, wish me luck”, to which Miss McNally replied: “Good luck, I might have a peek at your livestream later.”

Later, McCullagh sent a number of messages to Miss McNally from just after midnight to 9.31pm on December 19.

These included greetings and an apology for drinking alcohol when he said he had told her he would not while she was pregnant. There were no replies from Miss McNally’s phone.

“I’m usually a man of my word but I thought a few drinks would be ok seeing as it’s Christmas, I realise I should have run this by you first, and me saying one thing and then doing another has clearly upset you and for that I apologise sincerely,” he told her in a message.

“I love you and I never want to do anything to upset or hurt you.”

The court also heard he sent another number of messages which he also did not received a response to.

He went on to send messages to a friend called Anne, expressing his concern that Miss McNally was not responding to him.

The trial will continue on Thursday morning.