Overview
- An ex-girlfriend testified that McCullagh slapped and pushed her in 2019, threatened to share intimate images, and secretly recorded some of her counselling sessions, which she says she never consented to.
- Defense counsel said McCullagh accepts he slapped her during a crisis but denies punching her or making threats, and argues any recordings were offered to help her recall sessions.
- A Fonacab driver told the court he picked up a lone passenger outside Fa Joe’s pub in Lurgan at 10:46pm and dropped him in Lisburn around 11:13pm, with company GPRS data placing the drop-off at Woodland Gardens.
- The driver described a large passenger carrying a bag who gave directions, noted a couple of wrong turns, and mentioned traveling to deal with an unwell mother, before paying cash and entering a bungalow.
- A close friend testified that McCullagh phoned from the scene “howling” that “Natalie’s gone,” a police officer then confirmed the death on her phone, and she later learned his supposed live gaming stream that night had been pre-recorded.