ChronicleLive can exclusively reveal that two sadistic killers were handed almost £250k in taxpayer cash.
The mountain of money was granted in legal aid to Stephen Unwin and William McFall, the duo responsible for the rape and brutal murder of "kind and beautiful" young mum Quyen Nguyen, who was burned to death.
A Freedom of Information request has exposed the eye-watering sum awarded to the former cellmates - who had already been locked up after committing separate murders.
Ministry of Justice figures show £126,533 was spent in legal aid as 40-year-old Unwin tried to clear his name.
Meanwhile, accomplice, 51-year-old Mcfall, was awarded £122,642 in legal aid prior to their Newcastle Crown Court trial.
Both were jailed for life last year after luring the 28-year-old to a trap where they subjected her to five hours of torture.
She was then dumped into the back of her own car, covered with petrol and set alight on Shiney Row, near Sunderland.
Forensic evidence presented during the trial suggested that the young mum was probably still alive when the car went up in flames.
Her killers met in HMP Swaleside, in Kent, while serving sentences for murder.
They denied the sickening attack, in which they tortured the Vietnamese nail technician at Unwin's Sunderland home.
Instead they requested legal aid to cover the cost of fighting their case.
Data shows that just shy of £70k was spent for Unwin's solicitor fees.
Despite the large legal aid bill, the pair were ultimately nailed with the help of CCTV - with much of the footage coming from cameras installed by Unwin himself.
Footage was played from a camera at his aunt and uncle’s home next door to him at St Oswald’s Terrace, in Houghton le Spring, which he installed for security purposes.
The Ministry of Justice states: "Anyone facing a Crown Court trial is eligible for legal aid, subject to a strict means test.
"Depending on their means, applicants for criminal legal aid can be required to pay contributions up to the entire cost of the defence."
