Police have arrested a 46-year-old man in connection with the murder of a pregnant woman in Northern Ireland.

Natalie McNally, 32, was stabbed in her home in the Silverwood Green area of Lurgan, County Armagh, on 18 December.

Officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland arrested the suspect in south Belfast.

He was taken to Musgrave police station and is being questioned by detectives.

He is the third person to be arrested over the killing of Ms McNally, who was 15 weeks pregnant.

A 32-year-old man detained on 19 December was released unconditionally and is no longer a suspect.

And a second man, also aged 32, who was held on 21 December, was freed on police bail for further inquiries.

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Last Saturday, it was announced that detectives investigating the murder had seized a car from an address in the Lisburn and Castlereagh area for further examination.

Police previously released CCTV footage of a suspect entering Ms McNally’s street on the night she was killed.

The video shows the man arriving at Silverwood Green at 8.52pm.

He leaves the area at 9.30pm.

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Detectives have carried out hundreds of house-to-house enquiries and more than 3,000 hours of CCTV footage have been seized.

Ms McNally’s mother Bernie told Sky News: “This was an innocent girl and her baby’s life and I have to think God, in her last few minutes, was she pleading for her life? Was she pleading for her baby’s life?

“This all comes into your head. What were her last few minutes like?”

The victim’s father, Noel McNally, said: “Somebody’s bound to know the killer and if you kill somebody that way, you can’t just go home and act normally.

“If they could just find it in their heart to give up loyalty and just go straight to the police.

“You can’t be loyal to someone that has done this to a wee girl because he could do it to someone else and you wouldn’t want that.”

Speaking earlier this month, Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness said: “The deaths of Natalie and her unborn baby have left unimaginable heartache to a loving family, whose world has been turned upside down.”

“Amidst their pain, Natalie’s devoted family have, somehow, found the strength to appeal publicly for anyone with information to do the right thing and speak up,’ he said.

“And, likewise, we remain absolutely steadfast in our determination to bring the killer to justice.”

Police say a £20,000 reward has been offered by the charity Crimestoppers for anyone with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Natalie’s murder.

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