Witness ex-boyfriend was at home when Natalie McNally was killed, trial hears

A witness in the murder trial of Stephen McCullagh has said she was with Natalie McNally's ex-boyfriend on the night Natalie was killed.

The witness cannot be identified due to reporting restrictions, but she was living with Ms McNally's former boyfriend, who also cannot be named, in December 2022 when the killing took place.

McCullagh, 36, from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, County Antrim, has denied murdering his pregnant partner Natalie in her Silverwood Green home in Lurgan on 18 December 2022.

The witness told the court that on 18 December 2022 that she and her then boyfriend had spent time at home and he "was drinking and getting excited for the football that night".

She told the court: "I watched the whole game, he fell asleep mid-game and I woke him up."

Referencing a video that was shown to the court, she said she was "taking the mickey out of him" by filming him asleep during the game.

The short video was played to the jury showing the World Cup final on TV, and also depicting the witness and her then boyfriend asleep on the couch.

She was asked if she was aware of him leaving the flat or going anywhere that night and answered: "No, he didn't leave."

She told the court she went to bed at about 22:00 GMT while he was asleep on the sofa, but she didn't sleep until about 01:00, at which point he had joined her in their bedroom.

She told the court she had been suspicious "about him seeing Natalie" at that time, and had been tracking his phone, something she told the court he was not aware of at the time.

When asked about the state of their relationship she said: "There was risk of us breaking apart because of my suspicion of him potentially sleeping with other people."

She was also questioned by Stephen McCullagh's defence barrister about recent allegations she made against her ex-partner.

Earlier this year she gave a statement to police alleging he had physically abused her and sent threatening messages to her.

When asked about these allegations in court, she said: "The text messages are the truth and the rest of the allegations are just allegations."

When asked to clarify what this meant, she said: "We had been fighting and I was mad at him."

She was asked by the defence barrister: "Was the statement regarding hitting and beating you - was that true?"

She replied: "No."

The barrister asked if she had told anyone it was untrue and she said: "Family members."

She added: "I was in a bad mental state when I made that statement."

The witness was asked further questions about the recent allegations but refused to answer on the grounds that she had a right not to incriminate herself.

She was asked: "Are you now deliberately lying to get him out of trouble?"

The witness answered: "No."

Earlier in court the former boyfriend of Natalie McNally repeated his accusation that Stephen McCullagh killed the 32-year-old.

The witness was being asked by McCullagh's defence barrister "was it you that killed Natalie?" to which he replied: "No."

He was asked if he was at her home the night she was killed or if he recruited anyone else to help him, to which he said: "No."

He was asked if he understood that the defendant's case is that the witness was the person that killed Natalie to which he replied: "He done it."

He turned to the defendant in court and shouted: "You done it."

He also continued to stare at the defendant as questioning continued before making another outburst, shouting: "You killed her."

When giving evidence on Monday, the same witness made similar accusations.

Earlier in the hearing he was questioned about how he had injured his hands which had been photographed when he was arrested and questioned by police in the days after her killing.

He told the court the injuries were sustained by punching walls in his home.

He said: "I've been punching walls, I've done it a lot, I've done it a few times.

"It's the stupidest thing. All you do is wreck your hands."

He assured the court he did not get the injuries the night of Natalie's death.

When the prosecution barrister began questioning the witness he was asked about Natalie's pregnancy and the witness became emotional saying she was "over the moon - really, really, really happy".

He added "Natalie would have loved to have a kid with me", and again addressed Stephen McCullagh saying: "I don't know why you killed her."

The trial continues.