Following a harrowing three-week trial, Jamie Barrow, 31, has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Fatoumatta Hydara and her two young daughters, Fatimeh and Naeemah Drammeh. The devastating incident occurred on November 20 of last year when Barrow set fire to their flat in Clifton, Nottingham. Nottingham Crown Court unanimously found Barrow guilty, and he will serve a minimum of 44 years before being considered for parole.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Barrow, motivated by anger and a desire to harm others, poured petrol from his motorbike through his neighbour’s letterbox and ignited it in the early hours of the morning. Ignoring the desperate screams of his victims, Barrow callously walked away from the scene. Shockingly, he even contacted Nottingham City Council to inquire about compensation for smoke damage to his belongings in a nearby flat.
Tragically, three-year-old Fatimeh and one-year-old Naeemah perished in the blaze, while 28-year-old Fatoumatta Hydara succumbed to smoke inhalation two days later.
In sentencing, Barrow, Mrs Justice Tipples acknowledged his dark and depressed state of mind, as well as his anger and the urges he had to harm others. She highlighted that Barrow had consumed a significant amount of alcohol, which the court accepted as the main reason for his actions. The judge emphasized that his voluntary alcohol consumption did not impair his ability to form a rational judgment.
Mrs Justice Tipples firmly asserted that Barrow was fully aware of his actions and intended to kill Fatoumatta Hydara and her children, stating, “You were very angry, but it is only you who knows why you did this.”
Outside the court, family and friends of the victims expressed their grief and condemned Barrow’s heartless act of arson. Mr Aboubacarr Drammeh, Fatoumatta Hydara’s husband and father of the two young girls, spoke of the immeasurable suffering his family had endured. He described the actions of Barrow as utterly heartless and cruel, causing multi-generational trauma that they would never fully understand.
Mr Drammeh, who was in America at the time of the incident, emotionally recounted the painful experience of identifying the lifeless bodies of his wife and daughters on his 40th birthday. The courtroom fell silent as he described holding their hands and his wish to switch places with them. Mr Drammeh confronted Barrow, labelling him a coward who knowingly and deliberately committed the heinous act.
