One 36-year-old YouTuber has been found guilty of murdering his pregnant girlfriend back in 2022, with a fake GTA stream vital to the evidence that led the jury to their decision.
Stephen McCullagh, a YouTuber who created gaming and sci-fi content on the video sharing platform, has been convicted of murder after a jury determined that he had indeed used a stream on the website as a fake alibi to cover his tracks on the night he killed his girlfriend.
The incident occurred on December 18, 2022 in Lurgan as McCullagh traveled to the home of his girlfriend Natalie McNally, who was at the time roughly 15-weeks pregnant with a baby boy, as reported by the BBC.
It was determined that McCullagh took a bus to McNally's home before brutally murdering her, and then took a taxi back shortly afterward in the evening of the same night.
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In an attempt to cover his tracks and create a supposedly foolproof alibi for his whereabouts, McCullagh went live on YouTube playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in a Christmas-themed live stream for around six hours in total.
According to the YouTuber during the broadcast, he was unable to communicate with the stream's chat due to a 'technical issue', although it was later revealed by cyber experts and McCullagh himself that the stream had been pre-recorded in order to fake his activities that night.
He initially appeared to present the stream as an alibi to the police upon questioning in addition to allegations that a former boyfriend had committed the horrific act, but subsequently admitted that the stream – titled 'Violent Night' – had been faked.
McCullagh's channel has since been deactivated by YouTube following his guilty verdict, but the channel and all of the videos – including the aforementioned stream – were able to be viewed prior to that point.
YouTube management indicated that the stream had been demonitized, however, stopping him from earning any more money from the content during the lengthy trial period.
McCullagh was handed a life sentence following the jury's guilty verdict, and it took them roughly two hours to come to the decision having returned to the court room at one point to re-review CCTV footage.
Declan McNally, Natalie's brother, spoke to the press following the guilty verdict, declaring: "Our hope is that all of the victims and their families get their day in court and the justice they deserve."
He added that his sister was an 'inspirational person', noting that having her in the lives of his family was "the greatest joy they will ever have."