A YouTuber who murdered his pregnant girlfriend and falsely claimed he was live-streaming a video game as an alibi has been jailed for life with a minimum of 31 years.
According to Sky News, Stephen McCullagh, 36, was convicted by a jury at Belfast Crown Court in March of killing Natalie McNally, 32, who was 15 weeks pregnant with their child.
During the attack, at her home in Lurgan on 18 December 2022, she suffered stab wounds, strangulation and blows to the hand.
McCullagh concocted an alibi that he had been live-streaming himself playing computer games on his channel when McNally was murdered.
But police experts discovered the six-hour "live stream" had actually been filmed four days before, and broadcast as live on the night of the murder.
Speaking outside court after McCullagh was found guilty, McNally's brother Declan McNally said, "Violence against women and girls is the shame of our society, and we must do everything possible to end it."
The video platform giant YouTube removed McCullagh's account following his murder conviction.
Handing sentence, Judge Justice Kinney said McCullagh presented himself to McNally's family as "devastated, distraught and shocked" and arrived at their home on Christmas Day for her wake.
He added that McCullagh's falsified live stream was "integral" to his plan, saying it had been "carefully curated to appear as if it was streaming live and to provide the defendant a carefully-planned complete alibi to the murder."
The judge also said that the sentence "cannot possibly reflect the value of Natalie's life, or indeed that of her unborn child."
