A man accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend told her family at her wake about finding her body, a court has heard.
The parents and two brothers of Natalie McNally gave evidence about what they allege Stephen McCullagh said at her wake on Christmas Day.
Ms McNally, 32, was stabbed in her home at Silverwood Green, Lurgan in Co Armagh, on the night of 18 December 2022, when she was 15 weeks pregnant.
Mr McCullagh, 35, from Woodland Gardens, Lisburn, denies murder.
Belfast Crown Court heard from Ms McNally's father, Noel, mother, Bernadette, and her brothers, Declan and Brendan.
They told the court that Mr McCullagh said at the wake that he went to Ms McNally's home after becoming concerned when she did not reply to his texts.
Noel McNally said: "I think he started to tell us he was doing the gaming, to (when) he found the body - it was just one long story, I don't think anyone interrupted him during that time."
He said this was his third time meeting Mr McCullagh.
He said he had been released from police custody and as police had told them the accused was "no longer a suspect", they felt it was "appropriate he come to our house".
He said that Mr McCullagh told the family that when he got no reply from Ms McNally, he thought she was mad at him for drinking or had diabetic hypoglycemia.
Mr McNally said the accused said he bought a bottle of Lucozade on the way to her house and when he got there he texted her to say it was ok if she was "mad" at him and asked her to come to the window to let him know she was okay.
The witness told the court that Mr McCullagh said when he went into Ms McNally's house, he saw her Alsatian dog River stand up and he then saw Ms McNally lying at the top of the stairs.
He said he then phoned the emergency services, told them Ms McNally was pregnant and he said he was told to put a cushion under her.
Defence barrister John Kearney said the defendant had contended it was not "an accurate recall" to say he had texted Ms McNally when at her house asking her to come to the window.
He said that Mr McCullagh said he "never" said that to Mr McNally, but may have said he intended to ask her this.
"Is that possible?" Mr Kearney asked.
Mr McNally replied: "No. He said he texted Natalie to see if she was ok and she didn't reply."
Mr Kearney asked if Mr McCullagh had told the family that River had come down the stairs in the house, if he had said he rang the bell, and that when he rang the bell he opened the door and the dog ran out.
Mr Kearney also asked if he remembered the accused saying he called the dog back in and went back up the stairs and that is when he saw Ms McNally.
Mr McNally said: "That's not what he told me, no."
Bernadette McNally was also asked by Mr Kearney if Mr McCullagh said something about the dog "getting out and getting back in".
She said: "I can't recall that."
Mr McNally also said they were told by police that Mr McCullagh "wasn't cooperating with them" and police had asked the family to speak with him.
Mr McNally said the accused said that he did not want anything to do with the police because of how badly they treated him when he was arrested.
He said Mr McCullagh had said that while at the police station, he was "stripped", his genitals were swabbed and he was put in a cell for hours.
Mrs McNally later told the court the accused had told them he had not been treated "well" by police, and two female police officers had stripped him.
Mr McNally said that Mr McCullagh said when he was arrested, he told one of the policemen "I never killed Natalie" and the policeman had "laughed in his face".
Asked by Mr Kearney about a statement he gave, and how it compares to his recollection of what the accused said about his encounter with police, Mr McNally agreed it was a "slightly different version".
Asked if it was possible if he had instead "challenged the basis of his arrest", Mr McNally said: "He never said 'why are you arresting me', as far as I can recall he said 'I never killed Natalie'."
Under further questioning from Mr Kearney, Mr McNally was asked about whether Ms McNally's pets - River and two cats - had escaped before and whether the back door was "regularly" left open.
Mr McNally said he was not aware of that.
He also said he did not know about contact over the phone between Ms McNally and her ex-boyfriend.
Declan McNally said that Mr McCullagh "mentioned several times" that when he was in bed with Ms McNally, her phone rang and she hung up straight away, and he said Ms McNally said her ex was "always harassing" her.
He also told the court the accused said at one point a video had come up on his phone about narcissists and narcissism, and that narcissism was about control.
He said Mr McCullagh said he believed that was what happened to Ms McNally, and that he believed her ex-boyfriend had gone to her house, she had said she was pregnant and her ex had got "into a rage and killed her".
Mr Kearney said the defendant "doesn't recall this" but also "doesn't dispute it".
Brendan McNally said that Mr McCullagh had said at the wake that he had texted Ms McNally at 6pm on Sunday that he was about to start his livestream.
He said on Monday he texted her on WhatsApp throughout the day but was getting no response, and said his messages were received but not read, the court heard.
Brendan McNally said that Mr McCullagh said he became worried and when he arrived at her house he noticed her bedroom light was on.
He said the accused said he texted Ms McNally again to go to the window so that he could check she was okay, and when this did not happen he decided to go into the house.
He also said he mentioned a "list of grievances" Mr McCullagh had with police: "He said he was strip-searched and had his genitals swabbed by two female officers, he said he was left in a dark room by himself. That's all I can recall."
Asked by Mr Kearney if it was possible the defendant indicated he had intended to text Ms McNally, he said he could not recall the exact words used.
Asked by prosecuting barrister Charles MacCreanor if Mr McCullagh had said he texted Ms McNally, or if he had considered sending her a text, Mr McNally said to the best of his recollection "he actually did say that he texted Natalie".
Mr McNally also said the accused said at the wake on Christmas Day that he was constantly checking media and the prominence of the story on websites.
He said that Mr McCullagh said his "heart sank" when he noticed that it was dropping down the "most interest" sections.
"He said if he was working he would ensure that the story was on top," Mr McNally said, and recalled him saying this should be an "international story" during an "emotional outburst".
The evidence heard in the case yesterday is being published after the judge lifted a reporting restriction today.
'Raised voices'
This afternoon, two neighbours of Natalie McNally's gave evidence about the night of her murder.
Emil Sosins lived next door and heard "raised voices" a banging noise and screaming coming from her house around 9pm.
He said the scream was in a female voice.
"It was quite short, maybe three to five seconds," he said.
He said had it continued he would have intervened to find out what was going on, but he heard nothing more.
Aisling Henry's balcony looked directly onto the back of Ms McNally's home at Silverwood Green in Lurgan.
She said she had an uninterrupted view of the patio doors on the first floor of the rear of the property.
She said on Sunday 18 December 2022 her attention was drawn by a noise.
"It was like sharp intake of breath, sort of like a scream," she said.
She had seen a shadow on the door blinds which were pulled, she thought it looked like a big man or a tall woman.
And through a small gap at the bottom of the blinds she saw what she thought was a cloth.
"It created a wee bit of suspicion in me," she said.
Earlier, the court heard from extended members of the McNally family.
Gavin Haddock, the partner of Natalie's cousin, said he had first met Stephen McCullagh at Natalie's wake on Christmas Day 2022 and again at the family home on 7 January 2023.
Mr Haddock said the defendant had been "distraught" the first night and had been remonstrating with himself that he had been playing video games the night of the murder when he ought to have been protecting his partner.
Later, Anne Armstrong, an aunt of Natalie's told how she had met the accused at the McNally home in mid January.
He was emotional and went on to describe to her how he had found Natalie's body on the night of 19 December.
He told Anne Armstrong about his suspicion that a former partner who had been harassing Ms McNally via phone and email could have been responsible for the murder.
She said at a rally in support of the family in Lurgan on 28 January 2023 she had approached him again but he was less receptive to her and rejected her offer of a hug.
The trial continues.
