An Irish YouTuber accused of fatally stabbing his pregnant girlfriend allegedly pre-recorded a six-hour livestream of himself playing "Grand Theft Auto" to create an alibi while he traveled to the victim's home and killed her, according to prosecutors.
Stephen McCullagh, 36, who had about 37,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, broadcasted what appeared to be a live gaming session on the night of Dec. 18, 2022, the same night 32-year-old Natalie McNally was murdered at her home in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, as reported by The Guardian.
McCullagh Told Subscribers He Couldn't Respond in the Chat Due to a Technical Glitch
In the stream, McCullagh claimed several times that the video was live but said he could not respond to the video's live chat due to a technical glitch.
"He spoke throughout, continually, but did not speak to the people who were responding live," said Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness. "He did not interact with anyone at the time and he essentially formed a monologue with his own music and commentary of the game. We became aware that you could pre-record and stream as if live."
Prosecutors allege that while the video played, McCullagh traveled by bus from Dunmurry to Lurgan, stabbed McNally multiple times and then returned home by taxi.
'A Planned, Calculated and Pre-Meditated Murder'
Opening the case at Belfast Crown Court this week, prosecutor Charles MacCreanor KC described the killing as "a planned, calculated and premeditated murder by the defendant" that he "hoped to get away with," according to the BBC.
Jurors also heard a recording of the emergency call McCullagh made the following evening. In the call, he can be heard sobbing and telling the operator, "Please come as soon as you can, she's pregnant, she's cold," adding, "There's blood everywhere," the BBC reported.
The prosecution described the call as "an act" meant to help him "get away with it," per the BBC.
McNally, who was 15 weeks pregnant, suffered multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma to her neck and head, the BBC reported. Prosecutors said both the neck compression and stabbing injuries could have caused her death.
McCullagh was initially ruled out as a suspect based on the purported livestream alibi. He was later charged with murder and denies the allegation, according to The Guardian.
