A YouTuber who was found guilty of murdering his pregnant girlfriend after creating a fake GTA livestream as an alibi has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 31 years.
Stephen McCullagh appeared before Belfast Crown Court on June 3, where he was sentenced for the murder of Natalie McNally, who was 15 weeks pregnant with his child when she was killed at her home in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, in December 2022.
Judge says fake livestream was part of murder plan
McCullagh, 36, was unanimously found guilty of murder in March following a five-week trial. Investigators found that a YouTube gaming livestream he used as an alibi had actually been recorded days before McNally’s death.
According to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, McCullagh was sentenced to life imprisonment and must serve a minimum of 31 years before becoming eligible for parole.
During sentencing, Mr Justice Kinney described the killing as a “brutal and senseless murder” and said McCullagh had planned it in “remorseless detail.”
The livestream McCullagh used as his alibi was found to have been pre-recorded.
According to Sky News, the judge said the fake livestream was an “integral” part of the murder plan, allowing McCullagh to falsely claim he had been broadcasting from home while McNally was being attacked.
Police investigators later established that the six-hour YouTube stream had been recorded four days earlier and was only made to appear live on the night of the murder.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness said the sentence marked the conclusion of a lengthy investigation, adding that McCullagh had gone to “extreme lengths” to conceal his involvement, including creating the fake gaming stream that initially appeared to place him elsewhere.
