Two sons who murdered their mothers wracked up nearly £80,000 in legal aid fighting their cases in court.
William Kelly killed his mum by setting her on fire whilst Ross Taggart strangled his mother and hid her body under a caravan.
In separate trials, Kelly and Taggart each tried to plead innocence but were both convicted of murder and jailed.
The Sunday Mail can now reveal that combined the pair have been granted £78,521 in legal aid to cover their trials with Kelly being awarded £45,890 whilst Taggart was given £32,631.
During Kelly’s trial in January 2018, it was revealed that the former offshore worker had shouted “die, die” as Cathy Kelly was engulfed in flames.
Minutes earlier Kelly, 47, had brutally assaulted the 71-year-old, punching and kicking her and leaving her lying on the floor of her home in Kilmarnock, in Ayrshire.
A jury at the High Court in Glasgow took just 90 minutes to unanimously convict Kelly for the killing.
He was told he must spend 23 years behind bars before being considered for release.
Throughout the trial, Kelly denied murdering his mother at the home they shared on February 11, 2017.
Kelly claimed she was set on fire by accident after petrol he had spilled on himself in the garage ignited as he lit a cigarette.
But the jury heard there was no evil trail of petrol from the garage into the living room and were told if the blaze had happened as Kelly claimed, he would have been more badly injured.
When he was being treated for burns in Glasgow Royal Infirmary, he told a nurse: “I did what I had to do. I was provoked. She got what she deserved."
Taggart, 38, attacked his 54-year-old mum Carole-Anne at the home they shared in Dunfermline, Fife, and hid her body under a caravan in December 2014.
He then sparked a missing person inquiry by claiming to police she had stormed out of the house after a row.
Taggart was jailed for a minimum of 18 years at the High Court in Edinburgh after being found guilty in November 2015.
The Sunday Mail have also previously revealed that both men were allowed to remain as executors of their victim’s estates.
Kelly was appointed as executor of Cathy’s will eight months before he killed her whilst Taggart was appointed as executor in February 2015 - 10 months before his mum’s murder.
Taggart remains solely in charge of his mum’s £500,000 estate eight years after she died.
While he can’t profit from the death as a result of his murder conviction, he retains control over all decisions relating to the legacy - blocking the rest of the victim’s family.
We revealed that in the run-up to the attack in 2017, Kelly had been granted control of his mother’s £70,000 life savings.
Kelly, who was also barred from profiting, took four years to give up control of her estate.
But Roderick Paisley, professor of Scots law at Aberdeen University, teaches the law of succession and said it prohibits killers from controlling the estates of people they have killed.
The Scottish Legal Aid Board said: “Anyone charged with a serious criminal offence has the right to a fair trial and effective representation helps ensure that.
“As well as preventing miscarriages of justice, paying lawyers to provide representation for an accused eligible for legal aid helps the trial process to run smoothly and can help reduce inconvenience and distress for victims and witnesses.”
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