The Murder of Natalie McNally

On 18 December 2022, 32-year-old Natalie McNally was murdered in her home in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, stabbed, beaten and strangled while 15 weeks pregnant with her son. Her boyfriend, Stephen McCullagh, appeared to have the perfect alibi: at the exact time of the attack, he was hosting a six-hour 'live' YouTube broadcast, watched by thousands. In this episode, forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes reveals how McCullagh had actually pre-recorded the stream four nights earlier, slipping in chilling ‘hints’ at the murder he was about to commit, before slipping out to kill Natalie and returning home undetected. Drawing on CCTV, digital forensics and a harrowing 999 call, Kerry examines the mind of a killer capable of an extraordinarily calculated deception.

Key psychological themes

This episode explores: coercive control, misogyny and femicide • premeditation and staging a false alibi • narcissism and performative grief • digital forensics and deception detection • domestic homicide in Northern Ireland

Contributors featured in this episode

• Kerry Daynes — Forensic psychologist, presenter, and author of Dark Side of the Mind and What Lies Buried.

• Lynda Bryans — Journalist and broadcaster who covered the case.

• Catherine Kierans — Senior prosecutor, Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland.

What you'll learn in this episode

• Why Stephen McCullagh's six-hour 'live' YouTube broadcast, watched by thousands, turned out to be a pre-recording made four nights before Natalie's murder

• How digital forensic analysis of background computer activity exposed the difference between a genuine livestream and a played-out recording

• Why the killer titled his broadcast 'Violent Night' and slipped in-game lines like 'I need to kill this bitch' and 'Abso-effing-Natalie' into the footage

• How CCTV traced McCullagh's disguised journey by bus and taxi to Natalie's home and back, undoing his alibi

• Why detectives grew suspicious within minutes of his 999 call, despite no signs of forced entry and a guard dog that never barked

• How McCullagh manipulated Natalie's grieving family, secretly recording their conversations and attending her wake, while refusing to cooperate with police

• Why Northern Ireland has one of the highest rates of violence against women in the UK, and what Natalie's case reveals about coercive control and femicide

Relevant links and further reading

• Kerry Daynes — Dark Side of the Mind (Endeavour, 2019)

• Kerry Daynes — What Lies Buried (Endeavour, 2021)

• BBC News — coverage of the trial and conviction of Stephen McCullagh

• Domestic abuse support — Women's Aid Northern Ireland (0808 802 1414)

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Credits

• Presented by Kerry Daynes

• Produced by Shearwater Media

• Executive producers: Jeff Anderson and Steve Anderson

• Editing & Music: Rob Warner

Content note

This episode contains graphic descriptions of domestic violence and the murder of a pregnant woman. Listener discretion is strongly advised. Support for domestic abuse is available from Women's Aid Northern Ireland (0808 802 1414) and Refuge (0808 2000 247).

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