Overview
- Mr Justice Kinney began instructing jurors to evaluate each strand of circumstantial evidence and to convict only if they are sure of Stephen McCullagh’s guilt.
- The prosecution argues McCullagh staged a pre‑recorded six‑hour YouTube gaming stream as a false alibi for the night Ms McNally was killed.
- PSNI cyber‑forensics found no user activity on McCullagh’s laptop during the broadcast window, and prosecutors linked CCTV, transport timetables and taxi records to a journey between Lisburn and Lurgan.
- The defence says the case is a circumstantial jigsaw with gaps, citing the absence of CCTV showing McCullagh leaving his home and pointing to Ms McNally’s former boyfriend as an alternative suspect.
- McCullagh did not give evidence at trial, relying on police interviews and a pre‑prepared statement; jurors are expected to begin deliberations on Monday.