The boyfriend of Natalie McNally has been found guilty of her murder.
Stephen McCullagh, aged 36, of Woodland Gardens in Lisburn will now face a life sentence.
He had been accused of murdering his 32-year-old girlfriend Natalie McNally in her home in Lurgan, Co Antrim, at Christmas in 2022.
She was 15 weeks’ pregnant with his child.
Family members hugged each other, cheered and cried when the verdict was delivered.
The jury of six men and six women returned a verdict after two hours of deliberation.
The public gallery at Belfast Crown Court was packed for the verdict. It was delivered after 18 days of evidence in the high-profile case.
Stephen McCullagh had denied the murder
The prosecution had made the case that McCullagh had beaten, strangled and stabbed his former partner after discovering messages she had sent to other men.
During the trial the jury had heard how Ms McNally had been messaging other men, including a former boyfriend, during her relationship with McCullagh.
The trial heard how McCullagh had pre-recorded a six-hour video of himself gaming several days before the murder.
The prosecution told the jury McCullagh had then published that to his YouTube channel at 6pm on Sunday 18 December 2022, presenting it as a live event.
It said he had used the window afforded by the recording to travel from Lisburn to Lurgan by bus to carry out the murder.
The prosecution claimed that McCullagh had taken a taxi from Lurgan back home after the killing.
Watch: Natalie an ‘inspirational person’ who would have been ‘amazing mother’ – brother
It said he had been forced into that position because he had missed the last train which he had intended to take.
Tracking data from the taxi company showed that the taxi had pulled up outside the house in Lisburn where McCullagh lived.
The driver gave evidence that his passenger had gone into the house to get cash for the fare.
McCullagh claimed it was part of an attempt by the real killer to frame him for Ms McNally’s murder.
The trial had been told that McCullagh insisted a former boyfriend of Ms McNally’s had been responsible for the crime.
Read more: How McCullagh’s plot to murder Natalie McNally unravelled
Members of the McNally family comforted one another as the verdict was delivered.
Natalie’s father and mother Noel and Bernie stood and hugged one another in the public gallery.
Mr Justice Kinney thanked the jury for their “diligence” in dealing with the case. He said they had had to listen some “very difficult and traumatic evidence”.
The judge said he would sit again on a separate date to set a minimum term of imprisonment before McCullagh can be considered for release.
McCullagh made no reaction as the guilty verdict was read out.
The McNally family waited in the public gallery to watch as he passed them on the way down to the cells.
Before he left the court, the judge thanked the McNally family for the “dignity” they had shown throughout the trial.
As the relatives left there was a round of applause for the police and prosecution.
Outside the court there were more emotional scenes as the lead investigating officer was hugged by family members.
Prosecution barrister Charles MacCreanor was applauded loudly as he met the family in the corridor outside.