Natalie McNally murder trial told case against accused is 'circumstantial'

The defence in the Natalie McNally murder trial has told the jury the case against Stephen McCullagh is circumstantial without eyewitnesses or direct evidence.

McCullagh, 36, of Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, denies murdering his pregnant partner in her Lurgan home in December 2022.

During the four-week trial at Belfast Crown Court, another man who was a former partner of Natalie's, who can't be named due to a reporting restriction, was cross-examined.

McCullagh has asserted this man was responsible for her murder.

On Wednesday the prosecution made its final statement.

On Thursday, it was the defence's turn with John Kearney KC speaking to the jury.

He said it was "a classic circumstantial case" without eyewitnesses or direct evidence.

He said there were 10-15 strands that if treated like a jigsaw would include nagging reasonable doubt pieces.

Kearney said these pieces didn't point to the defendant, but Natalie's ex-partner who he described as the "reasonable doubt elephant in the room".

He told the jury that this other man is 'walking-talking reasonable doubt' in the case.

He said in his messages the man was very interested in McCullagh, knew his name, knew he was from Lisburn and knew he was a YouTuber.

"Could he accept the rejection of an ex-partner moving on?" he asked.

Kearney said that during the case, a pathologist spoke of blunt force trauma that Natalie had suffered.

He said some of this was consistent with punching.

The defence barrister said McCullagh didn't have a mark on his hands, but Natalie's former partner "had swelling on both hands".

"These are punch injuries. He told you on one hand it was caused on December 9 and on the other two months previously when he punched a bedroom wall."

Kearney also questioned the man's alibi and police statements.

He said there had been changes to his and his then partner's version of events on the night of the killing.

He said that when the man was asleep on the couch his partner said she'd read his messages which suggested an intention to go to Natalie.

The barrister also spoke about an allegation that was made and then withdrawn by the woman on 28 February of this year.

This related to alleged abusive messages and violence which Kearney said "speaks about his propensity to violence".

The defence barrister said the woman later contacted police to withdraw her complaint, telling an officer that the man's family and friends pressurised her and accused her of lying.

He also highlighted messages the man sent to Natalie the day before her death which referenced slapping, choking and rape as well as suggestions to meet up the following day.

The barrister said CCTV evidence the prosecution said charts the journey of a person of interest it believed to be McCullagh from near his home to Natalie's and back is flawed.

Kearney said that there was missing CCTV from McCullagh's street.

Movement activated camera footage from a neighbour's home in Woodland Gardens was shown to the jury during the case.

In the sequence on the night of Natalie's murder there is no footage of a person leaving McCullagh's home.

"There's a big jigsaw piece missing. That's the missing CCTV from his own street. He should have been picked up leaving his house. That's a big problem we suggest."

Kearney said the next pieces of CCTV were poor, with better quality images only kicking in close to the home of Natalie's ex-partner's home, close to the bus stop the person of interest used to travel to Lurgan.

The trial has heard about the pre-recording of an online six-hour gaming stream McCullagh played out on the night of Natalie's death, which had been presented as being live.

The barrister said the prosecution alleges that McCullagh had "planned ahead and planned to create this false alibi intending to kill Ms McNally".

Kearney said the trial had heard that there can be a monetisation incentive to present something that wasn't live as live with a police witness agreeing that this could well be a motivation.

He challenged the suggestion that McCullagh's motivation for murder was seeing messages between Natalie and other men on her phone.

"They suggest he accessed Natalie's phone triggering in his plan," he said.

"They haven't identified when they suggest the defendant accessed her phone. There is no evidence before you."

The trial had heard that a former partner of McCullagh alleged he assaulted her after finding messages to another man on her phone in December 2019.

"They are trying to suggest he has a propensity to domestic violence."

Kearney said that McCullagh said that the defendant had instead saved his former partner's life during a suicide attempt.

The jury had previously been shown a photograph of McCullagh wearing a hat and wig from his Instagram account that the prosecution suggest is the same style as the appearance of the person of interest in CCTV.

Kearney argued that they were not the same hat and also that there was no gait analysis or height analysis in the case.

On Friday, the judge will address the jury, which will then retire to consider its verdict.