A livestream "peddled as an alibi" in the trial of a man accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend was filmed four days previously, a police digital forensic analyst has said.
Stephen McCullagh appeared to be live broadcasting himself playing computer games at his home in Co Antrim on 18 December 2022, when police believe Natalie McNally was killed at her home in Lurgan, Co Armagh.
Mr McCullagh, aged 36, of Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, has denied murdering Ms McNally, who was 15 weeks pregnant with their son.
The prosecution contends the livestream was pre-recorded and broadcast as live on 18 December, while Mr McCullagh disguised himself and took a bus to Lurgan and walked to Ms McNally's house where he killed her.
They say he later got a taxi home before returning to Ms McNally's house on the night of 19 December, when he made a 999 call.
Earlier this week, the trial heard Ms McNally, 32, was subjected to a prolonged assault, including stab wounds to the neck, strangulation and heavy blows to the head.
The prosecution has contended her murder was "planned, calculated and premeditated, one which he (Mr McCullagh) hoped to get away with".
The court has been shown more than an hour of footage from the supposed livestream which showed Mr McCullagh playing the games Grand Theft Auto and Robot Wars, while drinking Guinness and Baileys and making references to broadcasting live.
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This morning, Detective Constable Matthews, a digital forensic analyst, gave evidence following his examination of Mr McCullagh's computer.
He said his examination of the device "provided extensive evidence indicating that the broadcast was pre-recorded and later streamed as a live event".
DC Matthews said examination of the computer and software indicated the six-hour broadcast had been recorded on 14 December and saved as a video file.
He said it was broadcast as live on Mr McCullagh's YouTube account Votesaxon07 on 18 December, explaining the software showed no signs of user activity between 6pm and just after midnight on 19 December.
The video file was then deleted in the early hours of 19 December and subsequently removed from the computer's recycle bin.
"Activity relating to video recording was taking place on the 14th, the creation of the pre-recorded video file was completed on the 15th, in the early hours," he said.
"There was the creation of a social media advert between the 14th and 17th, and a live stream of a pre-recorded video file was carried out between the 18th and 19th, and finally the deletion of the said file in the early hours of the 19th, 2022."
The trial continues.
