Stephen McCullagh will do at least 31 years of jail time before he is even considered for release. 

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. 

The judge, Mr Justice Kinney, told McCullagh that he committed a “brutal senseless murder and planned it in remorseless detail.” 

“The killing was cold blooded and calculated.” 

McCullagh tried to pin the murder on Lewis Jones, Natalie’s ex-partner, after having set up a false alibi.  

But the jury rejected that and found McCullagh guilty of the murder at Belfast Crown Court earlier this year. 

Kurtis Reid was in court for the tariff hearing.  

We want to earn your trust and are members of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at independent.ie/ourjournalism 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.