Episode 15: The accused won’t give evidence

Available for over a year

A special podcast series from BBC News NI covering the trial of a man accused of the murder of Natalie McNally in Lurgan in 2022. Stephen McCullagh, 36, from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, County Antrim, has denied her murder. Ms McNally was 32 years old and 15 weeks pregnant when she died. Kelly Bonner and Chris Buckler will bring you the evidence presented to the jury in court each day. Today the jury heard that Stephen McCullagh won’t face cross-examination or testify in his defence in this case. Earlier in court, the investigating police officer said that he believed there was a lack of ‘any real affection’ in messages between Natalie McNally and the defendant. The defence argued that the messages were “peppered” with “considerable expressions of mutual love and affection”. The case continues. Subscribe now on BBC Sounds and on the BBC News NI YouTube channel. If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this podcast, help is available at www.bbc.co.uk/actionline