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A court in Belfast has been presented with evidence concerning Stephen McCullagh, who stands accused of murdering his pregnant partner Natalie McNally at her Lurgan residence in December 2018. During the ninth day of the trial, testimony revealed that McCullagh had previously assaulted an ex-girlfriend after discovering photos she had sent to another man during a period when they were apart. Additionally, it emerged that McCullagh recorded a private counselling session that the woman attended following a pregnancy loss.
The witness, a former partner of McCullagh, recounted that their relationship began in late 2015 and spanned seven years with periods of separation and reconciliation. She disclosed that she had suffered a miscarriage in January 2022 after becoming pregnant with McCullagh’s child. On December 30, 2019, the witness explained she attempted to mend their relationship at McCullagh’s home. During a conversation about whether either had been involved with someone else, she admitted she had been dishonest, having sent messages and images to another man. When McCullagh saw the content on her phone—after she asked him to check it because it was slow—he became upset. The situation escalated when he pushed her into a bathtub and forcibly took her phone, an event McCullagh denies but the woman insists occurred.
The witness also described further violence during a car journey later that night. McCullagh suddenly stopped the vehicle and punched her on the temple, remarking that she could harm herself “on [her] own time.” Despite the defence’s argument that McCullagh intervened to stop her attempt to self-harm and contested the quote, the woman maintained her account. She also said McCullagh threatened to distribute the images from her phone to her family, friends, and colleagues. While the defence acknowledged that McCullagh had taken a photo of some messages for discussion purposes, they denied that he threatened their wider dissemination. The woman further testified that McCullagh had threatened to burn her sentimental belongings, a claim the defence countered by noting he returned her possessions, stating that “a lesser man would burn your stuff.”
She explained she initially reported the assault to the police on December 31 but withdrew her complaint on January 2, 2020, stating, “I thought him hitting me was trying to knock some sense in to me, because that’s what he said. I didn’t want him going to prison.” Despite remaining separated until 2021, the couple resumed contact before she became pregnant in early 2022. After learning of the pregnancy, she experienced contractions and sought medical help, but sadly the baby was stillborn. Seeking answers, she moved back in with McCullagh and began attending counselling sessions both at their home and a facility in Lisburn. The counselling took place in McCullagh’s living room, and the woman described being tearful on a daily basis.
In 2023, she was informed by police that recordings of her counselling sessions had been found on McCullagh’s computer, which she had been unaware of. “I was always told it was confidential between the counsellor and the person they are talking to,” she said. The defence claimed McCullagh had proposed recording a session to help her get the most out of it, which she allegedly consented to, and that it only occurred once. The woman denied that any discussion took place regarding recording her sessions. Their relationship ended definitively in early summer 2022
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