Natalie McNally: Figure seen throwing items over hedge

A murder trial has featured CCTV footage revealing a figure tossing items over a hedge at the residence of the defendant. This is part of the case against Stephen McCullagh, who stands accused of killing his pregnant ex-partner, Natalie McNally. Natalie, who was 15 weeks pregnant with a baby boy, was found dead at her Silverwood Green home in Lurgan, County Armagh, on 18 December 2022.

Stephen McCullagh, 36, from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, County Antrim, denies the charge of murdering 32-year-old McNally. During the trial, digital forensic evidence was introduced, challenging the defendant’s alibi based on a supposed live gaming stream. A cyber crime officer explained that the so-called live broadcast had actually been pre-recorded days prior, undermining McCullagh’s defense.

On the fourth day of the trial, Detective Sergeant Crawford presented a range of CCTV clips and maps to the jury. These recordings traced the movements of a person of interest on the night Natalie died. The footage followed a taxi journeying from Lurgan to the defendant’s address in Lisburn and showed McCullagh purchasing alcohol after Natalie’s car left his home on the afternoon of 18 December. Additional videos documented a figure moving through areas of Lisburn, boarding a bus with distinctive clothing and accessories, then arriving back in Lurgan and eventually returning to Lisburn by taxi.

The footage further revealed this figure throwing two objects over the hedge of McCullagh’s property before entering the front gate. Later that night, a person was seen interacting with a kerbside bin in the same location. The prosecution also linked a photograph from McCullagh’s social media account—depicting him wearing a black hat and wig—to the appearance of the cloaked figure seen on the CCTV earlier that evening.

In prior testimony, Detective Constable Matthews from the police cyber crime unit detailed strong evidence that McCullagh’s online gaming stream was not live but pre-recorded. The data showed the video was created on the evening of 14 December, several days before Natalie’s death. Key technical points included the connection of a camera to the computer only on two occasions that year, the use of specific streaming software (OBS) on 18 December, and a lack of typical background activity that occurs during live broadcasts. The recording was manually stopped just after midnight on 19 December, with the file being deleted shortly afterward, a process that would have required deliberate action by the user

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