A woman in a relationship with Natalie McNally's ex-partner testified at Belfast Crown Court that they did not coordinate an alibi for the night of Ms McNally's death. Ms McNally, 32, was 15 weeks pregnant when she died at her Silverwood Green home in Lurgan on December 18, 2022. Stephen McCullagh, 36, from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, denies murdering her.

The woman completed her evidence on Thursday. She stated her then partner fell asleep on the sofa while they watched the World Cup Final together that evening. She checked his phone after he fell asleep and saw a small number of messages with Ms McNally.

Defence barrister John Kearney KC questioned differences between her two police statements. The first, given on December 20, 2022, omitted details like watching a Harry Potter film afterward. She explained she did not know someone had died and lacked understanding of the situation.

Her second statement came after her partner's arrest, made late at night. She said her memory was poor then and preferred the first statement's accuracy. She denied discussing events with her partner to align accounts.

The witness confirmed deleting Ms McNally's number from her partner's phone because she did not want him contacting other women. She initially understood Ms McNally as a platonic former flatmate but later sensed more contact.

Kearney showed her messages between the ex-partner and Ms McNally from December 18, 2022. She said her partner routinely deleted texts and she had not seen those before. Mr Justice Kinney noted her distress over the messages.

Earlier, Ms McNally's ex-partner denied killing her when questioned by Kearney. He attributed hand injuries in police photos to punching walls, not the murder night. He rejected being at Silverwood Green or recruiting help that day.

The ex-partner accused McCullagh of the killing, shouting at him in court. He admitted initial inaccuracies to police on his last sighting of Ms McNally and contact extent, later corrected after arrest. He provided hour-by-hour locations for four days post-death.