Evidence in the trial of a man accused of murdering his pregnant partner, Natalie McNally, “points towards some other killer,” Belfast Crown Court has heard.
Delivering his closing statement to jurors on Thursday, defence barrister John Kearney said that when they “scratch the surface” of the case, “reasonable doubt resides” about Stephen McCullagh carrying out the killing.
An ex-boyfriend of McNally’s is the “personification” of that reasonable doubt, according to the barrister.
“He is walking, talking reasonable doubt,” he said.
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McCullagh (36), of Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, Co Antrim, has denied murdering McNally (32) at her home in Silverwood Green, Lurgan, on December 18th, 2022.
McNally was 15 weeks’ pregnant with his child.
During his daylong submission, Kearney told the jury of six men and six women it was a “classic circumstantial case dependent upon circumstantial evidence”.
There were some “inconvenient, troubling, nagging” pieces that “do not fit the prosecution case”, the barrister said.
There was “no eye witness, no direct evidence of any civilian witness” saying they saw the defendant enter McNally’s home to kill her.
“There are multiple pieces of this circumstantial jigsaw that point not towards the defendant, but we would suggest point away from him, towards some other killer,” jurors were told.
The accused did not take the stand during the four-week trial and Kearney said the jury did not have to “hold that against him”.
Reporting restrictions were placed on naming the deceased’s ex-boyfriend, who gave evidence as a prosecution witness.
Kearney acknowledged this individual “is not on trial”.
He said McCullagh believed that McNally’s ex-partner killed her and was “set up” by him.
Addressing the jury, Kearney suggested the man “couldn’t hack the thought of an ex-partner moving on to boyfriends new”.
The barrister referred to “distressing” evidence given during the trial by the pathologist who carried out the autopsy and found blunt force trauma injuries to McNally’s head as well as stabbing and strangulation injuries.
Some of these “blows” to the head were consistent with punching, he said.
Kearney noted there was “not a mark on the hands of the defendant in this case”, while there were “telltale swelling on both hands” of the ex-boyfriend.
“It’s a matter for you to accept the explanation that he punched bedroom or kitchen walls,” he told jurors.
Kearney also questioned the man’s alibi and police statements as well as his decision to wipe messages and contacts from his phone.
“He lied to police about when he last saw her [Natalie], he lied about when he was last intimate with her ...” he added.
He described the ex-partner as the “reasonable doubt elephant in the room”.
The prosecution case is that McCullagh “peddled a false alibi” by claiming he hosted a six-hour live stream game on YouTube on the night of the murder, when it was in fact pre-recorded.
McCullagh then travelled by bus from Dunmurry to Lurgan to kill McNally before returning to Lisburn in a taxi, during which period he changed his clothes and wore a disguise, according to prosecutors.
During his submission on Thursday, Kearney also said there were “holes” in the prosecution case in relation to CCTV evidence and clothing, specifically the “big black coat and distinctive trainers” the person captured on CCTV footage wore.
He added that CCTV should have “picked up” the defendant leaving his Lisburn home on the night of the murder, and it didn’t.
This absence of this CCTV footage was a “big problem” for the prosecution, jurors were told.
In relation to the pre-recorded live stream, Kearney suggested there could a “financial motive” to capturing audience interest by passing off online events as live.
There was also “no evidence” the accused had accessed McNally’s phone and read messages between her and other men, he added.
The barrister said the jury had to have no reasonable doubt that McCullagh was the killer before they could convict.
“When you come to this critically important decision on the identity of the killer, if you think he probably is the killer: not enough. If you are almost sure he is the killer: not enough.
“If you are left with a reasonable doubt that someone else could have been the killer, your job is to acquit.”
The prosecution case is “disintegrating in front of you”, Kearney said.
All evidence in the trial has now been heard. On Friday, the judge will address the jury before it retires to consider the verdict.
