Convicted killer Stephen McCullagh has claimed he had no memory of the night his pregnant partner was murdered but described himself to a Probation Officer as "a monster."

Natalie McNally was 32-years old and was 15 weeks pregnant with their unborn son Dean when she was beaten, strangled and stabbed by her partner at her home in Lurgan on December 18, 2022.

McCullagh, from Woodland Gardens, Lisburn, denied the murder charge but was convicted following a trial at Belfast Crown Court.

He was back in court on Thursday (May 21), where after listening to final oral submissions from both the Crown and defence, Mr Justice Kinney said he would impose the tariff - the amount of time McCullagh has to spend in prison before he is considered eligible for release - on Wednesday, June 3.

placeholder image — Convicted killer Stephen McCullagh.

Prior to this, the senior judge was told that following his conviction McCullagh spoke to a Probation Officer who then compiled a nine-page pre-sentence report.

Referring to the 'offending analysis' section of the report, Crown barrister Charles MacCreanor KC told Mr Justice Kinney that McCullagh initially claimed he had no memory of the night his pregnant partner was murdered in her own home but acknowledged he 'might have' left his house.

In addition, McCullagh told Probation he was convinced he was not guilty of murder and was sure McNally's ex-boyfriend was responsible.

He also said when the jury returned the guilty verdict so quickly, he only then began to suspect he must be responsible but was unable to make any sense of the offence.

The court heard he described the murder as "horrible, evil and vicious" and referred to himself as a "monster".

McCullagh also told Probation "I'm sorry for what I did to that poor family, what I did to Natalie and what I did to Dean. I would take it back in a heartbeat if I could."

Natalie McNally's partner Stephen McCullagh found guilty of her murder in Lurgan

Mr MacCreanor described the contents of the report as "self-contradictory" and suggested elements of "manipulation".

Saying there were "no mitigating factors in this case", Mr MacCreanor instead highlighted several aggravating factors. This, he said, included Ms McNally's vulnerability of being pregnant and living alone.

Mr MacCreanor spoke of the "serious and extensive" injuries inflicted upon her, which amounted to 48 separate points of injury, as well being left face-down in a dog bowl.

The prosecutor said another "serious" aggravating factor was that "not only did he murder his partner, but also her unborn child”.

Regarding the McNally family, Mr MacCreanor said they had written Victim Impact Statement and told Mr Justice Kinney: "The level and extent of the hurt and loss they have suffered is clearly apparent."

He said the tariff imposed should be between 27 and 35 years. Defence barrister John Kearney KC then addressed the Judge and suggested the starting point for sentence was a lower tariff of around 15 years.

Mr Kearney accepted the contents of his client's pre-sentence report were "self-contradictory".

The defence barrister said there was "an absence of evidence" regarding both the alleged degradation and humiliation linked to the dog bowl and the accessing of Ms McNally's phone prior to her being killed.

Mr Justice Kinney said he wanted time to reflect on matters and would impose the tariff upon McCullagh, who was taken back into custody, on June 3.