Prosecutors: YouTuber faked livestream while brutally murdering pregnant girlfriend

A YouTuber has been charged after he allegedly faked a livestream for six hours while murdering his pregnant girlfriend in Northern Ireland.

Key Takeaways:

• YouTuber Stephen McCullagh is charged with murdering his girlfriend, Natalie McNally, while faking a six-hour livestream.

• McNally was 15 weeks pregnant at the time of the murder.

• A rally was held in her memory, with participants wearing pink and blue in honor of her baby.

The Details:

The Guardian reported that McCullagh has been charged with murdering McNally on December 18th, while she was 15 weeks pregnant with a baby boy. While McCullagh claimed at the scene that McNally's ex-boyfriend was responsible, police didn't believe him, and he is currently standing trial for the murder. The Journal reports that tests showed "no alcohol in her blood at her time of death, but a therapeutic concentration of an anti-depressant medication."

On the night of the murder, McCullagh allegedly arranged a pre-recorded, six-hour livestream on YouTube, telling subscribers that he could not interact with them due to technical issues. Yet police claim that during this time, he actually drove from his home in Lisburn to McNally's home in Lurgan, where he brutally murdered her in a "prolonged assault."

DCI Neil McGuinness testified that an investigation by cyber-experts revealed that the footage during the livestream, in which McCullagh played "Grand Theft Auto," was pre-recorded; McCullagh later admitted that the footage was not actually live, though he still maintains his innocence.

McNally's murder was violent and brutal; she suffered blunt force trauma to the head and neck, and was stabbed three times in the neck. The pathologist also argued she had been strangled, noting "compression of her neck and noted bruising to her left and right, suggesting finger tips." A police officer testified about the horror of the scene:

"Her head was in the living room which was on the first floor. She was lying on her back with her feet protruding over the stairs.

She was slightly raised on the left hand side by a cushion and her left arm was up against the wall.

... there was blood visible around her neck. I noticed a puncture wound.

There was blood which was in a dog bowl. It looked almost like it had been used to collect the blood."

State pathologist Dr James Lynas, quoted by the Journal, stated that McNally appeared to have "sustained at least five heavy impacts to the head” and that “[t]here were also multiple bruises of the scalp and face, again in keeping with her having sustained additional blunt impacts, some possibly the result of blunt blows such as punches." He added that there were also indications that she "possibly survived in her moribund condition for a short period of time” and may have attempted to "protect herself."

McCullagh alerted police about McNally's murder the next evening, in an emotional phone call that the prosecution said was staged.

In the call, McCullagh could be heard sobbing and telling the dispatcher, "please come as soon as you can; she's pregnant, she's cold."

Zoom In:

Police claimed that, using CCTV footage, investigation found McCullagh taking a bus to McNally's home on the night of her murder, and a taxi back to his house afterwards. He also made sure to spend time with her family afterwards, and left a phone at their home set up to record audio, which prosecutors said was a ploy to determine whether or not they suspected him.

Thousands of people participated in a rally held in McNally's memory, many of whom wore pink or blue in remembrance of her preborn child as well.

"Violence against women is one of the great scourges of our society," McNally's brother, Brendan, said. "Full respect and support is given to the PSNI as they work to give justice to our Natalie."

The Bottom Line:

There is currently no known motive for McNally's murder, but violence against pregnant women is disturbingly common. Homicide is a leading cause of death among pregnant women in the United States, higher than all leading maternal causes.

These homicides are often linked to domestic violence, including in scenarios in which the woman has refused to have an abortion.