How a content creator tried to use a YouTube alibi to get away with murder

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. How a content creator tried to use a YouTube alibi to get away with murder60 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleCormac CampbellBBC News NI south east correspondentPSNI handoutA custody photo of Stephen McCullagh which was released to the media by the PSNIIt was a seemingly cast-iron alibi. Stephen McCullagh could not have murdered his pregnant girlfriend Natalie McNally because at the time of her death he was live streaming on YouTube. But weeks later, in a police interview room, a detective pulled the rug from under his feet telling him that he knew McCullagh's carefully crafted alibi was false.

"That wasn't live," the detective challenged. You can see it play out on YouTube," replied McCullagh. But it wasn't live, the police could prove it and from this moment the online content creator's high-stakes game of cat and mouse was up.

The Details

FamilyNatalie McNally was 15 weeks pregnant when she died at her home in Lurgan in December 2022On Wednesday, McCullagh was sentenced for Natalie's murder - he will serve a minimum of 31 years before he can be considered for parole. The 36-year-old, of Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, was found guilty murder after a five-week trial earlier this year. Natalie was 15 weeks pregnant when she was killed in her Lurgan home in December 2022.

Live updates: Stephen McCullagh sentenced to 31 years for the murder of Natalie McNallyHow content creator killer hoped a YouTube alibi would help him avoid justiceOn 19 December 2022, McCullagh was arrested at the scene after apparently discovering her body. But he was released on the basis of his alibi. Six weeks later cyber experts would blow that alibi to pieces.

They confirmed McCullagh had secretly pre-recorded a six-hour gaming stream that he then played out as live to give him cover to travel from Lisburn to Lurgan in disguise, kill his pregnant girlfriend and then get home before the stream ended. That charade continued with texts asking about her wellbeing and the subsequent discovery of her body, followed by an emotional 999 call. It was then that he immediately begun pointing the finger of blame at Natalie's ex-boyfriend.

What Experts Say

" very confident of avoiding justice for this, and was playing the role of the victim across his friendship group, across the McNally family and the public in Lurgan," Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) senior investigating officer Neil McGuinness said. And he had been very close to getting away with murder. Police had initially believed McCullagh's alibi because YouTube, the platform on which it had been broadcast, confirmed it had played out as a live broadcast.

He'd been 'de-suspected' as a result. In the role of heartbroken boyfriend, McCullagh attended Natalie's wake, visited her grave and made a memorial video for a vigil in her honour. All the while, he was secretly recording his interactions with the McNally family in the hope of garnering information about the investigation.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.