'Extensive evidence' accused's online stream was pre-recorded, murder trial told

There is "extensive evidence" showing a purported gaming live stream conducted by the accused in the Natalie McNally murder trial was pre-recorded, a digital forensic analyst has said.

Natalie McNally was 15 weeks pregnant with a baby boy when she died at her home in Lurgan, County Armagh, in December 2022.

Stephen McCullagh, aged 36 from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, County Antrim, has denied murdering the 32-year-old.

It is the prosecution's case that McCullagh had presented the six-hour recording of him playing computer games as a live broadcast on YouTube in order to create an alibi for her murder.

This the fourth day of evidence in the trial with Det Cons Matthews of the Police Service of Northern Ireland's cyber crime centre taking the stand.

He was giving evidence about the analysis of a number of McCullagh's computer devices.

He said he had found "extensive evidence" that the defendant had pre-recorded a six-hour video on the evening of 14 December 2022.

He said a file had been saved just after midnight on the morning of 15 December.

Matthews said that there was computer data to show that during this period a camera had been connected to the computer. This camera had only previously been connected on 9 May 2022.

"That was the only other connection that year," the officer told the court.

Matthews said that on 18 December software called OBS had been used to play the stream out over YouTube.

He said computer data indicates that this was not live.

He said this is because during a live stream the OBS software would record background activity, such as during breaks or in setting levels.

"But if it was pre-recorded you'd see no activity whatsoever and there was no indication of this activity whatsoever."

He said that at 00:05 on 19 December this file was manually stopped with the file deleted a minute later.

"That would require the user to manually delete it, it's not automated."

The trial continues.