Livestream ‘peddled as alibi’ recorded four days previously, trial hears

By Rebecca Black, Press Association

A livestream “peddled as an alibi” in the trial of a man accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend was filmed four days previously, a police digital forensic analyst has said.

Stephen McCullagh appeared to be live broadcasting himself playing computer games at his home in Co Antrim on December 18th 2022, when police believe Natalie McNally was killed at her home in Lurgan, Co Armagh.

McCullagh, 36, of Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, has denied murdering his girlfriend, McNally, who was 15 weeks pregnant with their son.

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 Justice Patrick Kinney.

On Thursday, the fourth day of his trial at Belfast Crown Court, McCullagh wore a grey T-shirt and jeans as he sat between two prison staff in the dock.

McNally’s family and friends watched on from the public gallery behind him.

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

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

Earlier this week, the trial heard McNally, 32, 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”.

On Wednesday, the court was shown more than an hour of footage from the supposed livestream which showed McCullagh playing the games Grand Theft Auto and Robot Wars, while drinking Guinness and Baileys and making references to broadcasting live.

On Thursday morning, Detective Constable Matthews, a digital forensic analyst, gave evidence following his examination of McCullagh’s computer.

He said his examination of the device “provided extensive evidence indicating that the broadcast was pre-recorded and later streamed as a live event”.

DC Matthews said examination of the computer and software indicated the six-hour broadcast had been recorded on December 14th and saved as a video file.

He said it was broadcast as live on McCullagh’s YouTube account Votesaxon07 on December 18th, explaining the software showed no signs of user activity between 6pm and just after midnight on December 19th.

The video file was then deleted in the early hours of December 19th, and subsequently removed from the computer’s recycle bin.

“Activity relating to video recording was taking place on the 14th, the creation of the pre-recorded video file was completed on the 15th, in the early hours,” he said.

“There was the creation of a social media advert between the 14th and 17th and a live stream of a pre-recorded video file was carried out between the 18th and 19th, and finally the deletion of the said file in the early hours of the 19th, 2022.”

The trial continues.