Murder detective: ‘When these two got together something bad was going to happen’
OFFICERS SHOCKED AT THE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE
Crime Reporter WITH evil only matched by one another, when William McFall and Stephen Unwin got together the only inevitable consequence was brutal murder.
The friends are facing life behind bars after a jury found both guilty of the horrifying murder of Quyen Ngoc Nguyen.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how the 28-year-old mum-of-two was lured to Unwin’s home, in Houghton-leSpring, where she was held for four hours and tortured.
The killers then set fire to the mum in her car.
McFall, 51, and Unwin, 40, were both already convicted killers and struck up a friendship while serving life sentences in prison.
And today the detective who led the murder investigation has told how it was this meeting of evil minds that cost Miss Nguyen her life.
Det Insp Ed Small, of Northumbria Police, said: “When these two individuals got together something bad was always going to happen, and it’s difficult to see how this could have been prevented.
“I must say these are probably two of the most violent individuals I have come across in 25 years of policing. They have never shown any remorse.
“These are two evil criminals who have taken what they wanted from a vulnerable person. They are two individuals that don’t care for anyone but themselves.”
McFall and Unwin had both previously been convicted of murdering vulnerable elderly people during burglaries at their homes, in the 1990s.
Both were sentenced to life but were released on licence several years ago.
After getting out the pair got back in touch and joiner Unwin hired painter and decorator McFall to help him with his property maintenance business.
It was through this business that Unwin met Miss Nguyen – known by the English name Anna – who managed a number of rental properties.
Prosecutors said the killers hatched a plan to lure her to Unwin’s home so they could rape her and steal her bank cards. Jurors convicted Unwin of rape, but cleared McFall.
And Det Insp Small believes both murderers knew exactly what would happen that night.
“I think there was definitely an element of planning,” he said. “But there was nothing to indicate that had gone on for weeks or months. I’m pretty sure they both had hatched a plan and when Quyen came to that address that night she was walking into a trap.
“It’s certainly the first case I have come across where two people have come together with that type of background and gone on to commit that type of crime together.”
Jurors were told how Miss Nguyen was subjected to a “terrifying” fourhour ordeal, in which she was raped, forced her to hand over bank details and then set on fire in her Audi while she was probably still alive.
The violence inflicted by the pair shocked even hardened, experienced officers, said Det Insp Small.
But in the hours after their brutal crime, McFall and Unwin showed no sign of what they had done and made very little effort to cover their tracks.
“It has been a difficult case for officers. It is upsetting for everyone concerned. She was a young single mother. She was just a vulnerable girl in that set of circumstances.
“It must have been unbearable and heartbreaking for the family,” said Det Insp Small.
“It was clear to me throughout that they are very arrogant. They are the type of people that think they can do what they want and get away with it.
“The day after the murder they were just getting on with their lives. They went out for a pub lunch. These are two individuals that target vulnerable people, they target them behind closed doors. Quyen was held for four hours. It doesn’t bear thinking about what she has gone through in that
house.”