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Chapter 1: What happened in the case of Natalie McNally's murder?
This is a Belltel and Crime World podcast. Stephen McCullough will do at least 31 years of jail time before he's even considered for release. The judge told McCullough that he'd committed a brutal, senseless murder and planned it in remorseless detail. The killing was cold-blooded and calculated.
McCullough tried to pin the murder of Natalie McNally on Lewis Jones, Natalie's ex-partner, after setting up a false alibi.
Chapter 2: What were the details of Stephen McCullagh's sentencing?
But the jury had none of it. It found McCullough guilty of the murder of Natalie McNally at Belfast Crown Court earlier this year. 32-year-old Natalie McNally had been 15 weeks pregnant when she was subjected to a violent attack and murdered at her home in Lurgan in December 2022. Curtis Reid was in court for the sentencing. Curtis, you're welcome to the Belltel. Thanks very much, Ciarán.
What was the reaction in court today when McCulloch was sentenced?
Chapter 3: How did the court react during the sentencing of McCullagh?
Yeah, I mean, it was incredibly interesting. I mean, to set the scene, we were sat in the press boxes, so the little rows just beside the actual judge and They opened the door to the public gallery and I would say about 30 to 40 people all came in. They all sort of flooded through the door and they all sort of sat down.
And throughout the actual sentencing, so to explain a sentencing typically lasts around about 45 minutes an hour, a judge is reading a pre-prepared statement, which we refer to as his sentencing remarks. And... There was a mix of emotions when they were reading the details about how Natalie died and the brutal and sustained attack that Stephen McCullough committed on her.
There was quite a few people crying visibly in the gallery.
Chapter 4: What was the emotional response of Natalie McNally's family in court?
When the judge decided that he was going to be serving 31 years in prison before he's considered for release by the parole board, there was almost sort of a silence. There was an eeriness. And I think it was, you know, it was complimented by the fact that Stephen McCullough showed no reaction.
I mean, you could feel the air, those sort of lift in the room when it was this sort of, well, this is over, you know, and I'm sure we'll touch upon it, which is that it's not really over for the McNally family. But in terms of the reaction in court, it was, there was an eerie silence, but, but, you know, you could tell that they were, they were thankful.
And McCullough, when he heard the words 31 years, did he react at all?
No, to explain, so he was sat in the dock the entire time and the entire time he looked almost bored. There was one time that I glanced over to him and the judge was really making a specific reference to the unborn child. So obviously Natalie was 15 weeks pregnant and her family died.
Chapter 5: What was the significance of the 31-year sentence for McCullagh?
you know, had decided to call the baby Dane. So they referred to, you know, the baby Dane throughout the actual trial itself. He did look particularly emotional whenever the baby was mentioned and when Natalie's pregnancy was mentioned. You could see that his eyes sort of filled with tears a little bit. But in terms of throughout the entire sentencing remarks, he sat... very slouched.
He played with his beard most of the time. He sort of twiddled his, he has a very sort of overgrown, disheveled beard now. And he sort of just played with it the entire time. And when he was asked to stand by Justice Kinney and told that he would be sentenced to 31 years, there was no reaction whatsoever.
Chapter 6: How did McCullagh attempt to mislead investigators?
Just to be clear, when McCullough was convicted of murder, he was given an automatic life sentence. This 31 years is the minimum tariff before he can be even considered for release by parole commissioners.
Yeah.
Just to be clear, that's a very, very long sentence. A very long sentence, yeah. I mean, I have covered multiple sentencing of the most horrific cases and we've done podcast episodes about it. You know, I think back to the Derry Lynn massacre where we thought he was going to get a whole life order and that involved a man who, you know, burnt an entire family alive.
I think in the end, I think he only got about 20, 20 years. So whenever we heard 31 years, there was a visible sort of shock amongst the journalists because even afterwards, there was a bit of discussion on
Chapter 7: What disturbing evidence was presented during the trial?
This is possibly one of the longest sentences that's ever been passed down, especially in recent history.
Natalie's family were present in the court. I mean, what was their reaction in the court?
Like I said, I mean, throughout the actual sentencing remarks, there was visible emotion from a few family members. You know, her brothers and her parents were sat just in my eyeline, just behind McCullough. They didn't, you know, overtly show any major emotions throughout. They were very stoic, probably just taking it all in. Probably, you know,
I don't want to assume, but they were obviously listening very, very intently. This is a day that they have waited now for three and a half years. So for this to finally happen after he was handed the life sentence in March, I'm sure that they wanted to hear every single thing that the judge said.
um you know what was saying and ultimately deciding you know in regards to the fate of mccullough but in terms of their reaction they just were very they were very stoic they were very calm they sort of you know they they took it all in after mccullough was sentenced and he was led away and you know the you know justice kenny you know asked him to be you know sent down uh as soon as the the door closed um and he was taken out of the courtroom there was there was hugs and there was you know there was
a breadth of emotions, particularly as well. We saw the full scale of those emotions outside the court shortly after the case had ended in which they gave a press conference. And, you know, her brothers, you know, they had tears in their eyes and her father, you know, gave a very brief short statement, which was very impactful and very, very emotional.
And you could see the toll that this has taken on all of them, particularly on their faces. Well, let's listen to that statement now.
Over the past three and a half years, our family has went through unimaginable pain and grief from the loss of our beautiful daughter, Natalie.
We would like everyone, we would like to thank everyone who has helped us to get here today, all our family and friends, the whole community of Oregon, of Craigavon and throughout this country and beyond, for all the kindness and the support we have received. We would also like to thank the PSNI and the Prosecution Service for getting us to this conclusion here today.
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Chapter 8: What was the impact of the case on the community and discussions around violence?
Today we do not celebrate the sentence handed down as Bernard, my three boys and myself are serving a life sentence since the murder of our beloved Nodley. But hopefully it will serve to deter and to help stop violence against women and girls in this country. With respect, we are now asked for some privacy to continue the degrees. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.
The judge's remarks, he explains why. he is given this long tariff. You know, the vast majority of people out there would agree with this tariff. Some people would have sought a... a life means life tariff, if you want to put it that way. But as we said, it is a long tariff for here. And he did explain, he made many very striking remarks explaining his rationale here.
Yeah, there was a lot of detail in the sentencing remarks because, you know, as I'm sure everybody that has followed this case, this was not... a, you know, this was not a simplistic murder. This was a cold and calculated concerted effort by Stephen McCullough to take the life of Natalie McNally and her unborn child.
And the judge really had to go through all of those concerted efforts, efforts that were implemented by McCullough. And that included
You know, the lengths that he went to to conceal, you know, the fact that the live stream on YouTube, you know, was faked, the evidence that he gave police, you know, the no comment interviews, you know, his complete lack of remorse, you know, when eventually he was charged. And there was also as well that...
particularly, you know, and rightfully so, there was a large focus on in which the method in which Natalie died. I mean, I think the fact that, you know, a pathologist couldn't actually determine what caused her death because of the extensive and brutal nature of her injuries. It wasn't, you know, that was really pointed to by the judge, you know, these graphic injuries.
There was particular reference as well. And I know that it's an extremely graphic detail, but You know, the dog bowl element, you know, the fact that she was found near a dog bowl and whether or not she was actually in the dog bowl and how it was filled with her blood. You know, that was something the judge made a pointed reference to. Did you show the brutality of this?
You know, the neck compressions, the lacerations to her neck, you know, the stab wounds, you know. It was an intensely graphic and like the judge referred to, it was a concerted effort and a brutal, brutal attack. So, you know, he has to take all those factors into account.
And the fact that McCullough did not plead guilty in any way, you know, these all go into the factors in terms of the sentence that he passes down. And he discussed things like the minimum when it comes to a life sentence, you know, there was references in the sentencing remarks that the minimum in a typical case would roughly be between 12 and 15 years.
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