Stephen McCullagh, the former gaming YouTuber convicted of murdering his pregnant girlfriend Natalie McNally, is reportedly appealing his life sentence. His legal team is said to be arguing that he’s now the “most hated man in prison” and sits at the top of an inmate hitlist.
McCullagh was jailed for killing McNally at her home in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. She was around 15 weeks pregnant at the time of her death.
The case drew huge attention because of the bizarre alibi McCullagh tried to build. He staged a fake Grand Theft Auto livestream to make it look like he was sitting at home gaming while the murder took place.
McCullagh pre-recorded a GTA session and pushed it out in a way designed to look live. During the recording, he reportedly pretended to struggle with reading chat, an attempt to explain why he wasn’t interacting with viewers in real time.
Investigators picked it apart quickly. The stream lacked genuine live interaction, and digital evidence showed the broadcast wasn’t what he claimed. Prosecutors used it as proof of premeditation, arguing the fake alibi was planned before the killing.
McCullagh was convicted of murder and handed a mandatory life sentence, with reporting placing his minimum term at around 20 years before parole can even be considered.
The appeal
The appeal is reportedly built around his safety behind bars rather than his guilt. His team argues that the nature of the crime, killing a pregnant partner, has made him a target among fellow inmates.
He is understood to be held at Maghaberry Prison, Northern Ireland’s only high-security facility, which limits transfer options. Under Northern Irish law, murder carries an automatic life sentence, so any appeal is more likely to focus on the minimum tariff or custody conditions rather than wiping out the sentence entirely.
Prison authorities have a legal duty to keep inmates safe, and threats typically trigger protective custody, segregation, or increased monitoring rather than sentence reductions.
