Overview
- Stephen McCullagh was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 31 years this week after a jury found him guilty of murdering his partner, Natalie McNally.
- The court heard McCullagh stabbed and strangled McNally in December 2022 while she was 15 weeks pregnant and that her unborn child also died as a result of the attack.
- Prosecutors showed he set up a pre-recorded YouTube livestream as a false alibi, attended the victim’s wake and tried to shift blame before his conviction.
- Multiple media reports say McCullagh is being kept on the hospital wing at HMP Maghaberry for his own protection and that unnamed prison sources believe other inmates view him as a target.
- A criminal defence expert explained that prison healthcare wings are often used as a pragmatic safety measure when prisons face capacity limits and staffing pressures, and any future release will be decided by the Parole Board after the minimum term.