YouTuber’s fake live alibi collapses; convicted of murdering pregnant girlfriend
YouTuber’s fake live alibi collapses; convicted of murdering pregnant girlfriend
A YouTube gamer from Lisburn is found guilty of killing his pregnant partner after a staged GTA livestream alibi failed to fool investigators.
A Belfast Crown Court verdict has brought a dramatic end to a case that put online personas and real-world violence in the same frame. Stephen McCullagh, 36, was found guilty of murdering his pregnant girlfriend, Natalie McNally, after prosecutors portrayed his six-hour livestream as a meticulously planned alibi that was intended to hide a fatal attack.
The defence had argued McCullagh denied the charge and claimed to be at home, livestreaming a video game on December 18, 2022, while a separate, real-life sequence unfolded elsewhere. In reality, he allegedly dressed in disguise and travelled to Lurgan, County Armagh, where he killed McNally with stab wounds to the neck, followed by strangulation and heavy blows to the head. The prosecution described the scheme as sophisticated, calculated and cool-headed, designed to deceive police and McNally’s family.
McCullagh’s apparent persona as a hobbyist gamer did not withstand scrutiny. The trial heard the six-hour gaming video was prerecorded and uploaded to a YouTube channel showing him at home in Lisburn, wearing a Santa hat and snacking, while the crime took place miles away. He denied the murder, but the jury of 12 men and women rejected his account.
Natalie McNally, 32, who had lived with type 1 diabetes since childhood, worked in marketing for Translink and looked forward to becoming a mother. Relatives described her as kind, generous and fiercely independent. McCullagh also worked as a part-time audience editor at the Belfast Telegraph. Family tributes followed the verdict, underscoring the human cost behind the alleged deception.
The case has sent a wave of shock through Northern Ireland, highlighting not only a brutal crime but also the chilling possibility of using an online “livestream” as a false alibi. The verdict leaves lingering questions about how digital footprints and real-life actions intersect in modern criminal investigations.
