Explaining the sentencing, Mr Justice Kinney spoke about aggravating factors, including the level of planning involved in the murder of Natalie.
He discussed the faked livestream McCullagh attempted to stage as an alibi, as well as his manipulation of other people, including Natalie, her family, his own friends and the police.
“This was not a spontaneous murder but a planned out one,” he said.
“Domestic violence is a grave reoccurring phenomenon of our society.”
Describing the attack itself as “brutal and frenzied”, the judge said McCullagh knew Natalie’s unborn child would also be killed.
“The defendant did not just kill Natalie McNally. Her unborn child also died as a result of the murderous assault…. he knew that her baby at such an early stage of pregnancy would have no chance of surviving the attack.”
He added that McCullagh’s attempt to implicate an innocent third party – Natalie’s ex-boyfriend – was another factor.
The way McCullagh travelled to Natalie’s house, plotting his route with travel timetables is also mentioned.
All of this, said Justice Kinney, made McCullagh’s culpability “extremely high”.
