Man who murdered mother and daughters in flat fire to be sentenced for killings

Jamie Barrow was unanimously convicted of murdering Fatoumatta Hydara and her daughters, Fatimah and Naeemah Drammeh, on Tuesday after a three-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

Barrow, 31, took petrol from his motorbike, poured it through his neighbour’s letterbox and set it alight in the early hours of November 20 last year.

Prosecutors said during the trial that Barrow had a “grievance” over rubbish left in an alleyway outside their shared block of flats in Fairisle Close, Clifton, Nottingham, and stood outside to watch the fire take hold.

Simon Ash KC told the jury Barrow “walked casually away” after ignoring the screams of his victims, and later called Nottingham City Council to see if they would compensate him for belongings damaged by smoke from the blaze.

Speaking after Barrow’s conviction, Mrs Hydara’s husband and the children’s father, Aboubacarr Drammeh, said: “Words cannot quantify how much our family have suffered because of the horrific actions of one man.

“Neither can we quantify the emotional, psychological, physiological and financial impact of the crime Jamie Barrow committed against Fatoumatta, Fatimah and Naeemah.

“His actions were utterly heartless and cruel – and have caused a multi-generational trauma that we will never understand.”

Mr Drammeh – who was in America at the time of the fire and had to identify his loved ones’ bodies on his 40th birthday – said Mrs Hydara “had a pure heart and was greatly loved for her personality and qualities”.

He said his daughters were “two angels who deserved a beautiful childhood and a full life”.

Fatimah and Naeemah, aged three and one respectively, died during the blaze, while 28-year-old Mrs Hydara died two days later, all from smoke inhalation.

Barrow had drunk several cans of lager before lighting the fire and was later seen on CCTV walking his dog while smoking a cigarette.

He asked officers how “bad” the fire was and in the hours after the blaze admitted to his actions, telling officers: “I need to tell you something about the fire next door.”

During evidence, he said he “can’t explain” why he targeted his neighbour’s flat, which he claimed to believe was empty at the time and that he did not intend to harm anyone.

But the jury rejected his account after almost seven hours of deliberations, with members of the victims’ families weeping as the verdicts were given.

Mrs Justice Amanda Tipples remanded Barrow into custody following his conviction and is set to sentence him at the same court on Friday.

The hearing is expected to start at 10.30am.