Family's Regret Over Trusting Natalie's Murderer
Noel McNally, father of Natalie McNally, expressed his ongoing anguish over having allowed her murderer to be alone with her during her wake. Natalie, aged 32 and 15 weeks pregnant, was fatally stabbed and beaten at her residence in Lurgan, County Armagh, in December 2022.
Stephen McCullagh, the father of Natalie's unborn child, was convicted of her murder earlier this week.
Noel McNally recounted that the night before the funeral, the family accepted McCullagh into their home, believing him to be a grieving partner and father. In hindsight, he reflected on the painful reality that they had left McCullagh alone with their daughter, whom he had brutally murdered.
Speaking to NI about the period following Natalie's death, Noel said McCullagh arrived on Christmas night to pay his respects.
"We brought him in and he told us the whole story about how he found Natalie... we felt so sorry for him,"
"We thought he was a grieving father and everyone moved out of the wake room and left him on his own with Natalie for about 20 minutes, half an hour.
"It was terrible to think... that we left him with our lovely daughter who he brutally murdered."
Noel stated that the family continues to struggle with the guilt of having allowed McCullagh to be alone with their daughter.
"You feel so guilty sometimes, you know, how did we fall for it? How did we fall for how he could have done that to us."
Family's Shared Guilt and Support
Bernie McNally, Natalie's mother, shared that one of her sons had brought McCullagh to Natalie's grave. She noted the lasting impact this had on her son Declan.
"To this day, I don't think Declan will get over that. He feels so guilty about that.
"It's not Declan's fault. He was looking after him."
Bernie mentioned that the family discussed their feelings of guilt regarding McCullagh being alone in the days and weeks after Natalie's murder.
"We've got each other, we've got the whole family here,"she added.
Noel described how they cared for McCullagh during that time.
"He had nobody and we were bringing him here and bringing him dinner and giving him food to take home."
McCullagh's Deceptive Behavior
During McCullagh's visits to the McNally family home, there was no indication that he was responsible for Natalie's murder.
"He was just such a good actor,"Bernie said.
"When you look back at some of the things he was saying and doing... he never, ever let his guard down."
Bernie recalled McCullagh narrating how he found Natalie, conveying that the experience had traumatised him.
"He was just taking pleasure out of telling us, it was so horrific,"she said.
"I have to say, to me, he was enjoying it, he was watching, he was sitting there telling us.
"Why would you otherwise that's what I was saying to myself at the time: 'Why is he telling me this?' He must be traumatised."
