Imagine you’re getting comfortable in your sofa as your favorite streamer starts his playthrough as usual. In the next few days, you notice his name starts to appear on every news outlets. And next thing you know, he is charged for the murder of a pregnant woman which occurred at the same time he was streaming. How would you react to the news?
Welcome to the next issue of Mystery 🔎, this is the story of Stephen McCullagh.
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1. The Murder of Natalie McNally
Stephen’s livestream at the night of murder. Image source: dailymail.co.uk
Stephen McCullagh, also went by his pseudonym Votesaxon07 on YouTube, is a reviewer from Woodland Gardens, Lisburn who is renowned for his critiques of a wide range of toys, including HEXBUG toys and prop replicas. His channel has approximately 37,000 subscribers.
He is also known for his gaming livestreams on the platform, frequently playing Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Robot Wars on his channel. This 33-year-old man has a girlfriend named Natalie McNally, 32, who was 15-weeks pregnant. Natalie was the only daughter of Bernie and Noel McNally, along with her three brothers Niall, Brendan and Declan; she was described to be “a vibrant spirit and commitment to helping others” [1].
“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.” - Brendan McNally, Natalie’s brother. [2]
It was a pre-Christmas night, when Natalie was spending her time relaxing in front of her decorated tree, watching TV and scrolling through social media at her home. Little did she know, her excitement of being the first time mom and the joy of the McNallys would soon come to an end that same night.
Natalie McNally. Image source: dailymail.co.uk
On the morning of December 19th 2022, Stephen came and found his girlfriend, along with his unborn son, Dean, dead from multiple wounds in Silverwood Green [3], he called the police. The McNallys then got the call notifying them about their precious daughter being murdered overnight. The distraught parents and siblings were crumbling to their feet.
The police have established that Ms McNally was murdered sometime between 8.52pm and 9.31pm, with neighbors hearing a scream at around 9pm. They soon listed Stephen as one of the main suspects for the murder of Natalie but they ended up ruling him out thanks to his alibi. But people started to question his involvement in the case as his hidden plan got uncovered gradually.
2. The Fake Alibi
McCullagh and Ms McNally began their relationship in August 2022. By December of the same year, she had been in her 15th week of pregnancy. On December 18th, Natalie McNally had been at her parents' residence in Lurgan, watching World Cup. As she journeyed to Lurgan in her vehicle and reached her destination around 7 p.m., her arrival was captured on CCTV footage capturing [4]. Meanwhile, Stephen had announced on his social media accounts that he would start streaming at around 6p.m. that evening, the streaming session was called "Violent Night Christmas Stream".
Stephen McCullagh’s announcement on Twitter. Courtesy: @Votesaxon07
Prior to the murder, Stephen had told Natalie of his livestreaming plans via his last text message at 5:57pm, saying: “Right I’m off to stream the night away, wish me luck.” And then, when the murder happened, his viewers still saw him playing Grand Theft Auto for 6 hours straight.
However, there was definitely something off with Stephen while he was live. He constantly said that he couldn’t see the comments due to some technical issues from his end, and so he played the game through and through while speaking to himself, his viewers were left wondering.
During the session, he engaged into a side mission in the game where he killed a woman and made it look like an accident. His inputs during the playthrough was rather chilling as well, saying:
“I need to kill this b*tch, I need to take her down.”
“Time is of the essence I nearly got the b*tch.” [5]
He also believed to have left a message in his livestream when he said “That’s physics, that’s what would happen in the real world... abso-f******-notly followed by abso-f******-Natalie.” [4]
The 6-hour livestream session turned into his trusted alibi that helped him get crossed out as a prime suspect. However, the police later found out the video was actually pre-recorded several days before the murder, presumably December 13th or December 14th, and was broadcasted as if it was live [6].
The suspicious man appeared in the CCTV footage, purportedly Stephen McCullagh, on his way to kill Natalie. Image source: www.thesun.ie
So what actually had happened?
Stephen McCullagh was meticulously came up with a cold-hearted plan to eliminate his girlfriend. The plot started with him recording a 6-hour long video of him playing GTA and uploading it on his channel as if he was livestreaming. Meanwhile, he made his way to her house and stabbed her to death.
A team of plain clothes detectives raiding the house of Stephen McCullagh. Image source: www.sundayworld.com
Along with the CCTV evidence retrieved from the surveillance camera, there was a male whose face was covered with with his hood and scarf, carrying a “distinctive” Asda bag for life, walking towards a bus stop at 7.09 p.m. that evening from Dunmurry, two miles from McCullagh’s house, to Lurgan. CCTV footage in Lurgan also captured an individual with a gait similar to McCullagh's at Silverwood Green, where McNally resided with her pet dog and two cats. The investigators also retrieved a CCTV footage on the bus, according to the lead investigator, during the 90-minute journey, the suspect remained “motionless, except to check his face is covered,” even when he “awkwardly” taking a sip from a bottle of Coke.
Upon disembarking the bus at the nearest stop to the victim's residence, the masked man, carrying a bag, proceeded to walk to Ms. McNally's house where he stayed for 40 minutes. The strangest thing was that the suspect was “oddly undisturbed by Natalie's protective German Shepherd” [7], indicating that the suspect could be an acquaintance of the victim.
Police reported that Stephen had travelled back from Lurgan by a taxi. As he stepped out of the house with his attire fully changed, he hailed a taxi to Lisburn and was dropped off near McCullagh's residence [8].
DCI Magennis stated that the taxi driver had disclosed to the police where he had dropped off the passenger, and although he wasn't familiar with Lisburn, the GPS in his taxi confirmed the location.
The timeline of the murder based on police’s descriptions. The time could be inaccurate.
While McCullagh's phone couldn't be used to place him at the scene, the officer noted that his device displayed "absolutely no activity whatsoever" from 6 p.m. until it was "swiped open" at 11:16, just three minutes after the taxi dropped off its fare nearby.
"That's peculiar behavior in itself," remarked the officer, "that there's no movement or activity for five hours at a significant time." [9]
Even after the tragic incident, Stephen remained in contact with the McNallys for weeks. To the distraught family’s unbeknownst, Stephen had left his phone at their home, leaving it secretly recording for 40 minutes as an attempt to gather information about the investigation and determine if they considered him a suspect, according to the prosecutors.
However, with the evidence of up to 4,000 hours of CCTV footage, along with the inconsistencies in his narrative and his dubious alibi, he ended up being remanded back in custody on January 31st, 2023.
3. The Tragedy Stemmed From Jealousy
A post-mortem examination revealed that the victim's death resulted from neck compression, stab wounds to the neck, and blunt force trauma to the head. While a knife was recovered, the blunt object used in the attack was yet to be located. This somehow matches the description of Stephen’s “livestream” at the night of murder, “Violent night”, which the prosecutors believed was his foreshadowing of the event.
Eventually, it came to light that what drove Stephen McCullagh to slay his partner was jealousy. It looks like Stephen found out that his girlfriend had exchanged 33 WhatsApp messages with an ex-boyfriend [10] on December 15th and 16th, according to the police. It was also disclosed in Stephen’s trial that sexualized communication between the two was involved and likely the reason that led to the tragedy.
Stephen allegedly had accessed McNally's phone nine times the night before her death, using a passcode she had previously shared with him:
“On December 17th, the night before the murder, Ms McNally stayed with the accused and analysis of her phone shows that between 12.22am and 9.54am on the day of her death her device was unlocked nine times.” - Prosecution barrister Natalie Pinkerton.
Therefore, the police decided to arrest two men in connection with the brutal murder, Stephen and a 46-year-old man who was arrested on bail on 13 January, 2023. However, according to a PSNI spokesperson, they were “no longer considered suspects in the case” on February 7th, 2023 [11].
Natalie’s parents at court. Image source: www.itv.com
During his hearing on February 2nd which lasted nearly an hour, McCullagh remained silent and appeared emotionless for most of the lengthy hearing [12]. Although his next court appearance was supposed to take place on February 24th, McCullagh did not attend the scheduled hearing at Craigavon Magistrates' Court today. Upon request from his defense barrister, Craig Patton, the case was adjourned for four weeks to “consultations in prison and respond to undisclosed points raised in written submissions by the prosecution” [13].
On March 6th, 2023, a barrister for Stephen McCullagh made an application at the High Court in Belfast on Monday, however, he was refused bail. Fast forward to January 12th 2024, guess what? Stephen McCullagh pleaded not guilty for the murder of Natalie McNally.
When asked how he pleaded to the murder charge, McCullagh replied "not guilty." [14]
However, due to the overwhelming amount of CCTV footages that will be presented to the jury, defence barrister John Kearney KC suggested that the trial be conducted in Belfast. Following this, Mr. Justice O'Hara scheduled the trial to take place on Monday, September 9th, 2024.
After deciding the trial date and selecting Belfast as the provisional venue, the senior judge announced his intention to review the case in March.
McCullagh was then handcuffed and escorted from the dock by prison staff. As he passed by and into custody, he did not acknowledge Ms. McNally's family and friends.
The public is still demanding justice for Natalie.
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This is good writing. I like how you go deep into research and bring out the story. May she get Justice she deserves.
Lets hope justice prevails and this doesnt turn out to be another OJ’s case.