Predator who raped and murdered student Libby Squire got £110,000 in legal aid
The murderer who raped and killed student Libby Squire benefited from nearly £110k in taxpayer's cash, legal aid figures reveal.
Some £109,563.35 was spent on butcher Pawel Relowicz's defence team when he went on trial in 2021 for the horrific crime in Hull two years prior.
Philosophy student Libby, 21, disappeared following a night with friends when the married 28-year-old predator attacked her in a park before later dumping her body in a river.
Evil Relowicz later laughed as he was charged with Libby's murder, and has since refused to meet her grieving mum Lisa Squire as part of a restorative justice project.
Libby's body was dumped in a river before being discovered in the Humber Estuary (Humberside Police/PA)
Libby Squire was preyed on and killed in Hull in 2019 (PA)The Polish national was caged for life in February 2021 and told he would serve a minimum of 27 years - a sentence which he has since appealed.
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His legal aid bill, obtained by MailOnline, comes as Libby's family last week marked four years since her senseless murder.
The bright student, originally from West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, had been turned away from a popular student nightclub on the night of January 31.
CCTV showed Libby wandering along a busy road away from her home after being dropped off by a taxi, before sex offender Relowicz's silver Astra was also caught on camera nearby.
Tributes left on a bench in Hull where Libby was seen shortly before Pawel Relowicz murderer her (Katie Pugh)The young father had previously been caught peering through windows watching young women and masturbating, and Humberside Police charged him with voyeurism and burglary charges before later charging him with the murder.
A search of his house also turned up multiple items such as underwear and sex toys he had stolen after breaking into women's homes in Hull.
In October last year, it was revealed Relowicz had agreed to meet Libby's mum face to face.
However, his appointment was cancelled the following month after claiming he was appealing his sentence.
Court sketch of Pawel Relowicz at Sheffield Crown Court as he was found guilty of the rape and murder of Hull student Libby Squire (Elizabeth Cook/PA)A statement from the Ministry of Justice's Legal Aid Agency said: "Legal aid is not paid directly to defendants.
"Legal aid is paid to solicitors and barristers for the provision of legal representation to ensure a fair trial.
"Anyone facing a crown court trial is eligible for legal aid, subject to a strict means test.
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"Depending on their means, applicants for criminal legal aid can be required to pay contributions up to the entire cost of the defence, if they are convicted of at least one offence with which they are charged."
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