Ex-Partner Denies Planning Alibi in Natalie McNally Murder Trial
The former partner of a man accused by Stephen McCullagh of murdering Natalie McNally has stated they did not "sit there and plan out any sort of alibi."
Stephen McCullagh, 36, from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, County Antrim, denies the murder of his pregnant partner Natalie McNally, who was found dead in her Silverwood Green home in Lurgan on 18 December 2022.
Over the past three days, the trial has examined a claim by McCullagh suggesting that another man, a former partner of Ms McNally, was responsible for her death. This man, who finished giving evidence on Wednesday, strongly denies the accusation.
On Thursday, a woman who was in a relationship with this man at the time of Ms McNally's death completed her testimony. Due to a reporting restriction, neither she nor the man can be named.
"I didn't want him talking to other women"
The woman testified that she had, at one point, deleted Natalie McNally’s and other women’s numbers from her then partner’s phone.
"I didn't want him talking to other women,"
Under cross-examination, when asked about her understanding of her former partner’s relationship with Ms McNally, she said:
"Initially I was told she was like a platonic friend, like a flatmate, but over time I picked up there was more to that."
The woman confirmed that she had tracked her former partner to Lurgan on at least one occasion when it was suggested he was meeting with Ms McNally.
She also told the court that on the evening of Natalie McNally’s death, she was watching the World Cup Final with her then partner and had recorded a video of him sleeping during the game.
She acknowledged that he had been texting on his phone prior to falling asleep but explained that he texted "24/7" and was "really decent at deleting his messages." She stated that she had checked his phone after he had fallen asleep.
The defence then asked her to read messages exchanged between the man and Ms McNally on the evening of her death.
"I didn't know someone was dead"
Some of these messages were explicit in nature. The woman told the court she had not seen them before and did not want to read them aloud.
Some messages referenced a potential meeting between the man and Ms McNally the following day.
The defence questioned the woman about inconsistencies between different statements she had made regarding what she and the man were doing on the evening of Ms McNally’s death. This included varying accounts of the time the man went to bed and what they watched after the World Cup final. It was suggested that her second statement contained more detail.
The woman responded:
"I didn't understand the gravity of the situation when I gave the first statement so I didn't think I needed to go into that level of detail. I didn't know someone was dead at that point."
However, she also said she believed her first statement was more accurate than her second, explaining:
"[The second statement was] made in the middle of the night. He had just been arrested. My memory was not in a good place at that point."
She emphasized that she and her former partner had not conspired to create a shared version of events.
"I know he didn't do it, so I thought there was no chance of him getting arrested," she said.
"We didn't sit there and plan any sort of alibi."
When questioned about more recent issues with her ex-partner, the woman declined to engage further.
