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NEIGHBOURS OF NATALIE McNally, a pregnant woman who was killed in 2022, heard screams and noises on the night she died, a court was told.
Stephen McCullagh is accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend in December 2022.
Ms McNally (32) was stabbed at her home in Silverwood Green, Lurgan, on the night of 18 December 2022 when she was 15 weeks’ pregnant.
McCullagh (36), from Woodland Gardens, Lisburn, denies murder.
A neighbour told Belfast Crown Court today he heard screaming and banging on the night Ms McNally died, while another neighbour said she saw a shadow on Ms McNally’s blinds at the back of her house.
Emils Sosins, who lived next door to Ms McNally, said he heard “banging and screaming” coming from her home at around 9pm on the night she died.
He told the court he could not hear what was being said but it sounded like a female.
He said the noise lasted three to five seconds, and then he heard no further noises.
Asked if he took action, he said he “listened out” and was going to go and see what was happening if there was anything further, “but there was nothing afterwards”.
Aisling Henry, who lived in a flat to the back of Ms McNally’s property, said on the night Ms McNally died, at around 9pm, she noticed Ms McNally’s patio blinds were completely down and said her blinds “were never down”.
She said she heard a noise which drew her attention and described it as “like a sharp intake of breath, like a scream”.
She said she also saw a shadow on the patio blinds which she said looked like that of a “big man or a tall woman” and said the person appeared to be “broad”.
“I did see a shadow,” she told the court.
She said at the bottom of the blinds there was a gap, and she saw what appeared to be an orange cloth which she said created “a wee bit of suspicion in me”.
Asked by defence barrister John Kearney KC whether she had seen the back door to Ms McNally’s home open, she said on “a few occasions” in the evening “it would have been opened”.
She said she could not remember if it was open on the night Ms McNally was killed.
Earlier today, Kathleen McStravock, an aunt of Ms McNally, gave evidence about what she alleges McCullagh had said at the wake for Ms McNally.
Members of the Ms McNally family gave evidence about what they allege McCullagh said at a wake held for Ms McNally in the family home on Christmas Day.
McStravock said that McCullagh had said he had texted her niece at 5.55pm on Sunday to say he would not be in touch because he was about to start a livestream.
She said McCullagh said Ms McNally had replied to say good luck and that she “might jump on later” to have a look.
She said McCullagh said he replied after the livestream to say he hoped Ms McNally was not angry with him for drinking, and said he was not concerned that she did not reply because it was after midnight.
She said he said he got up the next day and sent her a ‘good morning’ message, and looked at his phone at midday and there were still two grey ticks on his WhatsApp messages to her, rather than blue ticks indicating they had been read.
She said he looked again in the afternoon and said the messages had still not been read, and he then sent a message to his friend to ask her “have I messed up here”.
The court heard he said he took a screenshot of the messages he sent to Ms McNally and sent them to his friend, who suggested asking Ms McNally a question.
The court heard McCullagh said he would ask her if she wanted KFC or home cooking after her scan the following day.
Another aunt of Ms McNally, Anne Anderson, told the court that he showed her a photograph of him as a baby and said that was what his and Ms McNally’s child would have looked like.
She said he also showed her photos of a holiday in Donegal, a knitted baby hat and a pram he was going to buy.
Defence barrister Kearney said that the defendant said he had no recollection of meeting her and asked if the photo she was shown was possibly a generated image of what their child would have looked like based on photos of Ms McNally and McCullagh.
She said: “No, definitely not.”
She said McCullagh said a few nights before Ms McNally was murdered he was in bed when Ms McNally’s phone rang.
She said he said the number was withheld, and he did not know if Ms McNally answered but he knew that it was her ex-boyfriend.
Gavin Haddock, a cousin of Ms McNally’s, told the court that on 7 January 2022, McCullagh was at the McNally family home.
He said McCullagh went to the back garden of the house to smoke and he went out and joined him.
He said McCullagh was playing a YouTube video on his phone and said it was the livestream from 18 December.
Haddock said he kept saying “look at me playing these stupid little video games” and looked “very distraught”.
He said that McCullagh fast forwarded the video by three hours and said it was around the time that Ms McNally died.
He said McCullagh said “I should have been there to protect Natalie” and that no-one would have got passed him.
“I felt really, really sorry for him,” Haddock said, adding that he told McCullagh he had “struck gold” with Ms McNally as he tried to reassure him.
Ryan Bonner, a partner of Natalie’s cousin Noeleen, said he was in the garden of the McNally home with Haddock and McCullagh on that same date.
He said Haddock had left and he was alone with McCullagh, who showed him his phone and said “this is what I was doing”.
Bonner said he put a hand on McCullagh’s shoulder and said “there was nothing he could have done to stop it”.
The trial continues on Thursday.
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