Murder accused's tearful 999 call was an act, prosecution claims

The trial of a man accused of the murder of Natalie McNally heard the 999 call made by the defendant the night after her death.

Stephen McCullagh, 36, from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, made the call from Natalie's home at about 22:00 GMT on 19 December 2022.

The 36-year-old, who denies the murder, can be heard sobbing and telling the call handler, "please come as soon as you can, she's pregnant. She's cold".

The prosecution told the court that the 999 call was "an act. Put on. Part of his plan to do the murder and get away with it".

McCullagh was asked by the call handler: "Is the patient breathing?"

He was heard crying: "No, she's gone."

He also said: "There's blood everywhere."

McCullagh told the call handler that Natalie was 15-weeks pregnant and they "had a scan" the next day.

The prosecution opened their case to the jury of six men and six women.

Charles MacCreanor KC told the court this was "a planned, calculated and premeditated murder by the defendant. One which he hoped to get away with".

MacCreanor told the jury that the evidence they will hear will point to the fact Natalie was killed in her Silverwood Green home in Lurgan between 20:50 and 21:30 on Sunday 18 December 2022.

At 21:50 the following evening McCullagh made the call which lasted for 10 minutes and was played in Belfast Crown Court.

The court was told that Natalie, 32, suffered "serious multiple stab wounds".

MacCreanor told the court a pathologist noted "compression of her neck and noted bruising to her left and right, suggesting finger tips".

The court also heard that Natalie had three wounds to her neck and blunt force trauma to her head caused by "at least five heavy blows to her head".

The prosecution told the jury that "both the neck compression and stabbing injuries could have caused death on their own".

The court heard that Natalie was pregnant when she was killed and that the defendant, McCullagh was the father of their unborn child.

MacCreanor revealed that after the emergency services arrived at the scene, McCullagh told police he knew what had happened and said an ex-partner of Natalie had done it.

At the scene, McCullagh said he had been live streaming from 18:00 to 00:00 the night before and that he thought Natalie was angry with him as he had been drinking alcohol during the live stream and she had not replied to his messages.

McCullagh also told police the last time he heard from Natalie was at 19:59 on Sunday 18 December and that he had gone to her home on Monday evening as she was diabetic and he was concerned that she may have had a hypoglycemia attack.

He also spoke of finding his partner at the top of the stairs and calling 999 and said the last time had seen her was at his Lisburn home at about 13:00 the day before.

McCullagh was arrested at the scene on the evening of Monday 19 December 2022 on suspicion of murder.

He was interviewed the following day when he reiterated his claim that the last time he had seen Natalie was at his home and that he had called at her home the following evening to see if she was okay.

McCullagh also spoke of an "abusive" ex-partner and due to his alibi that he was live streaming at the time of the murder, he was released from police custody on 20 December 2022.

A paramedic described the moment he arrived at the scene of Natalie's home the night her body was found.

Graham Thompson told the court he was "first into the address".

He told the court it was clear that "a lot of blood had been lost" and that her "lips and hands were blue" when they arrived.

Thompson told the court that when he arrived a "gentleman was on his knees doing CPR" and there was a "significant amount of blood around the patients head and shoulders".

He was asked by MacCreanor did he notice: "Any visible injuries?"

He replied that "there was a small puncture wound" visible on her neck.

Thompson said McCullagh was "visibly upset and actively preforming CPR".

He said he told the defendant there was "no hope of resuscitation at this stage" and told the court that McCullagh was "quite upset about that".

The paramedic told the court that it "looked like quite a suspicious scene" and when asked what the mood was like at the property he answered that it was "quite frantic".

A police officer told the court that when she arrived at the scene there was a "strong foul smell".

Constable Archibald said the defendant was initially "visibly distraught" and that she was "trying to console him".

The court heard that McCullagh told the officer he "didn't speak with his family" but had a close friend that he would like to contact .

Archibald told the court that when she spoke to his friend he said: "It's Natalie. She's gone".

Another police officer told the court that when he arrived upstairs, he saw a knife.

Constable Feeley told the court: "The knife was about three or four feet behind her in the living room area".

He said there was "blood on the carpet, on the floor of the living room, on the walls".

He told the court that McCullagh was distraught and "almost falling about the place".

The court was played body worn footage of Feeley saying: "I know this is hard. I know this is hard. I apologise about this mate."