YouTuber guilty of killing pregnant girlfriend appeals life sentence as he tops inmate “hitlist”

A YouTuber found guilty of murdering his pregnant girlfriend while using a fake GTA livestream as an alibi is living in terror in prison and he's lodged an appeal against his life sentence

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Stephen McCullagh, 36, was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court on June 3 for the murder of Natalie McNally, who was 15 weeks pregnant when she was killed at her home in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, in December 2022.

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McCullagh was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 31 years before he can be considered for parole.

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Now, the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland has been notified that an appeal against the sentence has been lodged.

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McCullagh was found guilty in March following a five-week trial, where jurors heard how he attempted to use a pre-recorded Grand Theft Auto stream to make it appear as though he was at home while McNally was being killed.

Stephen McCullagh faked a GTA stream while he killed his girlfriend.

YouTuber is "the most hated man" in prison for killing pregnant girlfriend

During the trial, the court was told McCullagh claimed he had been livestreaming on YouTube on the night McNally died.

However, police experts later discovered the six-hour stream had actually been filmed four days earlier before being broadcast as live on December 18, 2022. The stream was presented as a live gaming broadcast, with McCullagh claiming he could not interact with viewers due to technical issues.

At sentencing, Mr Justice Kinney said the staged livestream was an “integral” part of McCullagh’s murder plan.

McCullagh's appeal comes as he's been labeled the 'most hated man' in the prison and has a "target on his back."

According to The Mirror, inmates at the high-security Maghaberry Prison have the YouTuber on a "hitlist" because he killed a pregnant woman and it's causing a bit of a "security nightmare."

"That's one thing the prisoners don't like - harming innocent children. Some of the worst attacks there have been in here (Maghaberry) have been on child killers and child abusers," one source said. "And you have to understand, the human side means staff aren't going to put their own safety at risk to intervene for the likes of them. Because McCullagh murdered a pregnant woman, he falls into that category."

The content creator was reportedly being held at the Moyola hospital wing for his own protection as it's separated from other units and houses around 19 high-profile inmates.