STEPHEN UNWIN/WILLIAM MCFALL

Two men accused of torturing and murdering Quyen Ngoc Nguyen, a Vietnamese woman who had lived in the UK since 2010, have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

During their trial, it was revealed that Ms Nguyen was kidnapped, held captive, and subjected to severe torture, including being raped and tortured into revealing her bank PINs, before being murdered.

Her body was discovered in a burning car near Sunderland in August 2017.

The court heard that Stephen Unwin, aged 40, was convicted of her rape and murder, while William McFall, aged 51, was found guilty of her murder but not of rape.

It was reported that Ms Nguyen's body was likely deceased when placed in the fire, with a pathologist stating he could not confirm if she was alive at that point but confirmed the fire was likely the cause of death.

The judge described Unwin as a 'calculating, manipulating and ruthless killer' and branded McFall as 'an extremely violent man capable of monstrous behaviour.' They had met in prison and reconnected after release, then lured Ms Nguyen to Unwin’s home before capturing her.

The jury was told they kept her captive, tortured her, and took money from her bank accounts.

During the ordeal, they ate curry while Ms Nguyen lay injured and unconscious on the floor, and then disposed of her body by setting her on fire.

The court was told they murdered her in a 'cold-blooded and callous manner,' deliberately trapping her for their own malicious purposes.

Her sister Quynh, in a victim impact statement, said: 'She did not deserve to die in this horrific manner.

They did not act like human beings.

They are evil.' The judge condemned their actions as 'demonic' and sentenced them to whole-life terms, emphasizing the brutal, emotionless nature of their crimes.