The man who murdered his pregnant girlfriend Natalie McNally is being kept away from fellow prisoners over fears for his safety.

Stephen McCullagh, 36, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 31 years at Belfast Crown Court last week for the murder of Ms McNally.

She was 15 weeks pregnant when she was murdered at her home in Lurgan, Co Armagh, in December 2022.

The case drew national attention for the chilling lengths McCullagh went to in an attempt to cover his tracks.

He set up a fake YouTube livestream to give the impression he was at his own home at the time of the killing, initially tried to blame a ‘previous boyfriend,’ and even attended his partner’s wake on Christmas Day.

A five-week trial heard he had disguised himself before travelling to her home on the night of her murder.

Sentencing him, Mr Justice Kinney said no punishment could ‘possibly reflect the value of Natalie’s life, or indeed that of her unborn child.’

Now, sources say the killer has a ‘target on his back’ behind bars, the Mirror reports.

It is understood he was held in the hospital wing of HMP Maghaberry in Lisburn for his own protection before sentencing.

Now, days into his sentence at the same facility, he rarely interacts with other inmates.

One insider suggested McCullagh faces an added danger, claiming staff may be reluctant to intervene if he were targeted in an attack.

Rachel Fletcher, head of crime and regulatory at Slater Heelis solicitors, told the Mirror that vulnerable and high-profile inmates are often placed in prison hospital wings as a ‘precautionary’ measure, partly due to overcrowding.

‘Ideally, you wouldn’t be using them like this, but the reality is staffing pressures and capacity issues in prisons mean they’ve become a bit of a practical workaround when there aren’t better options available,’ she said.

She added that while the start of a sentence is often ‘rocky,’ inmates usually adapt by ‘keeping their heads down.’