An Irish streamer has been found guilty of murdering his pregnant girlfriend and staging a fake Grand Theft Auto livestream as an alibi, in a case that has drawn widespread attention to the use of technology in violent crime.
A Belfast Crown Court jury on Monday convicted 36-year-old YouTuber Stephen McCullagh of killing 32-year-old Natalie McNally, who was 15 weeks pregnant, at her home in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, on Dec. 18 2022.
Prosecutors said McNally suffered multiple stab wounds and neck compression injuries that were each capable of causing death. The jury of six men and six women reached a unanimous verdict after deliberating for just over two hours, according to the BBC.
McCullagh, from Lisburn, had claimed he was at home that night streaming himself playing games, including "Grand Theft Auto" and "Robot Wars," to an online audience.
He told police the supposed livestream, which lasted about six hours, showed he could not have been at the crime scene. The court heard that during the broadcast, he drank alcohol and referred several times to being live on air.
Digital forensic experts later established that the footage had been recorded four days earlier and then broadcast as if it were live. Analysis of McCullagh's computer showed extensive evidence that the session was pre-recorded and saved as a video file.
Cyber analysts also noted that he avoided interacting with viewers, telling them he could not respond because of technical issues.
Prosecutors argued the fake stream was part of a planned and premeditated attempt to create a false alibi while McCullagh traveled from Dunmurry to Lurgan, killed McNally, and returned home, AOL News reported.
The court was told he later phoned emergency services and presented himself as a concerned boyfriend, behavior the prosecution described as an effort to "get away with it." He eventually admitted in a written statement to police that the broadcast had been pre-recorded.
The judge has yet to pass sentence, but McCullagh faces a mandatory life term for murder under Northern Ireland law.
The case has prompted renewed discussion among investigators and legal experts about how digital evidence can both enable and expose attempts to conceal serious crimes. McNally's family has previously spoken publicly about their loss and called for justice throughout the lengthy investigation and trial, as per the Independent.
