AN IRISHMAN and his accomplice have been handed full-life sentences with no opportunity for parole after murdering a young mother-of-two.

William John McFall, 51, who is originally from Northern Ireland, and Stephen Unwin, 40, were convicted last month of the murder of 28-year-old Quyen Ngoc Nguyen in Sunderland last August.

Unwin was also convicted of raping 28-year-old Miss Nguyen.

After the pair were sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court today, senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Ed Small described the case as “one of the worst cases I have had to investigate in 25 years as a police officer”.

Previous murders


Evil McFall and Unwin first met in prison where they were both serving time for other murders.

McFall was sentenced to life in 1996 after bludgeoning a pensioner to death with a hammer after she caught him breaking into her Co. Antrim home.

He was released in 2010.

Following the pair’s release they reunited and schemed together to rape and murder Miss Nguyen.

The Vietnamese worked as a manager at a nail bar as well as helping to find properties for other members of the Vietnamese community.


It was through this line of work that she met property manager Unwin.

Rape texts

On the afternoon of August 14, Unwin and McFall exchanged texts arranging to rape Miss Nguyen.

After arriving at Unwin’s house at around 7.30pm, Miss Nguyen was held by the pair for four hours, during which she was sexually assaulted and raped to such a level that it rendered her unconscious.

The pair stole her bank card and Unwin was caught on CCTV withdrawing hundreds of pounds from her account while she was held in the address.

Miss Mguyen’s unconscious body was then moved into her car before the pair drove it to allotments where they abandoned it and set it on fire.

A pathologist later told police that Miss Nguyen may still have been alive.


'Evil men'

Unwin, of Oswald Terrace, Houghton-le-Spring, and McFall, of Waterloo Road, Blackpool, denied any responsibility.

They showed no remorse throughout and refused to take any responsibility for their actions but were found guilty by a jury in March.

After the sentencing, Miss Nguyen’s sister, Quynh NGoc Nguyen, said: "We did not believe that evil men like this existed in this country, we thought it was a safe place to bring up our families.

“Today I am relieved that these men will now spend the rest of their lives in prison. They don’t deserve freedom. “