Here is your round-up of cases heard before courts around Northern Ireland from June 1-5
06:00, 07 Jun 2026
Custody photo of Stephen McCullagh, who was found guilty of the murder of his pregnant partner Natalie McNally
Cases before Northern Ireland courts this past week included the sentencing of Stephen McCullagh for the “cold and calculated” murder of his pregnant partner Natalie McNally.
Elsewhere, a 29-year-old man was handed a life sentence after he admitted murdering his pregnant partner in her Donaghadee home.
And a court heard the cost of the damage caused to 5G masts across Belfast after a campaign of arson attacks.
Here is your round-up of cases heard before courts around Northern Ireland from June 1-5.
Man in court charged in relation to incidents that saw officer hit by police car
A man was remanded in custody after appearing in court on Monday charged in relation to a series of driving incidents that saw a police officer struck by a stolen PSNI car.
The officer sustained what police described as serious injuries following the collision in Downpatrick last weekend.
The court appearance came as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned what he described as a “horrific incident” and said his thoughts were with the officer injured by the stolen police car.
Kieran Turley, 27, from Vianstown Road in Downpatrick, appeared before the town’s magistrates’ court charged with dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and using a motor vehicle with no insurance.
Belfast 5G arson attacks caused £2.7m of damage, court told
A campaign of arson attacks on nearly 30 different 5G masts in Belfast has inflicted £2.7m worth of damage, a court heard on Tuesday.
The confirmed costs were disclosed as bail was refused to one of two brothers accused of targeting some of the installations.
Michael Clarke, 46, of Monagh Road in the city, is charged with three counts of arson in connection with attacks carried out in June 2023 and August 2025.
He also faces a further count of conspiring with 45-year-old Darren Clarke to destroy masts belonging to a number of telecommunications companies.
Omniplex wins right to challenge Stormont’s business rates freeze
Northern Ireland’s largest cinema operator obtained High Court permission to challenge a business rates revaluation process being put on hold.
Omniplex was granted leave to seek a judicial review of the decision taken by Finance Minister John O’Dowd. With the company predicting it could lose out on rate savings of almost half a million pounds, Mr Justice McLaughlin listed the case for a full hearing in November.
Omniplex claims the ministerial u-turn unlawfully breached a legitimate expectation of the majority of non-domestic property owners in Northern Ireland.
Stephen McCullagh sentenced for “cold-blooded and calculated” murder
On Wednesday, convicted killer Stephen McCullagh was handed a minimum 31-year sentence for the “cold-blooded” murder of his pregnant partner Natalie McNally.
As he imposed the tariff on the 36-year old at Belfast Crown Court, Mr Justice Kinney told him to stand then said: “Stephen McCullagh, you have committed a brutal and senseless murder.
“You planned this murder in remorseless detail. You attacked someone you professed to love in a frenzied assault which was characterised by its excessive and gratuitous violence.
“Despite that frenzy, the killing was cold-blooded and calculated as evidenced by the extensive planning leading up to the murder and to your actions afterwards.”
Man pleads guilty to murder of pregnant woman in her Co Down home
On Friday, a 29-year old man was handed a life sentence after he admitted murdering Sarah Montgomery in her Donaghadee home.
Zak Hughes also admitted a charge of causing the destruction of her unborn child. The 27-year old mother-of-two was killed in her Elmfield Walk home on June 27, 2025. As a result of the fatal attack, her unborn son did not survive.
Man pleads not guilty to murder of dad-of-eight stabbed more than 40 times
On Friday, a man pleaded not guilty to the murder of a father-of-eight in Derry. Sean Ciaran Joseph Rodgers, 38, was led into Belfast Crown Court in handcuffs by two prison officers for his arraignment hearing.
When the charge of murdering Edward Jude John Meenan on November 25, 2018, was put to him by the clerk of the court, Rodgers, of no fixed abode in Ballymena, Co Antrim, replied: “Not guilty.”
The partially-clothed body of 52-year-old Eddie Meenan was found in an alleyway off Creggan Street, Derry. He had sustained over 42 stab wounds with injuries to his neck, chest, arm and legs.
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