THE hunt for Natalie McNally's killer is one of the largest and most complex seen in recent years.
Dozens of detectives have used modern investigative techniques and called on the help of experts from an outside agencies, including the National Crime Agency.
During a court hearing today a prosecutor claimed Stephen McCullagh had hatched a "sophisticated, calculating and cool-headed plot" to murder Ms McNally.
And while the 32-year-old is alleged to have gone to great lengths to mask his part in the killing, which he denies, his social media footprint provides a window into his private life.
He is understood to be a former pupil at Fort Hill Integrated College in Lisburn and he on his Facebook profile says he worked as a digital editor at the Belfast Telegraph.
The paper itself has described him as a part-time assistant audience editor.
Posting under the name Stephen McCulla, the accused has a strong online presence and is active across several platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Well known to the cyber community as reviewer of children’s toys he regularly posted videos online and his YouTube channel currently has almost 37,000 subscribers.
He is best known for his Doctor Who reviews and often dressed up as the main character from the popular BBC programme as well as figures from other science fiction films.
It goes on to say he had both corneas of his eyes “surgically replaced in the early 2010s due to an eye disease”.
On the day he was initially arrested, December 19, he posted just one message on Twitter about a Star Wars toy.
It was a full 12 days before he posted another message on December 31 claiming that “2022 was the worst year of my life”.
Read more:Family of Natalie McNally issue statement following court appearance of accused Stephen McCullagh
