Chilling moment neighbour calmly walks away after starting fire that killed mum & 2 daughters before he smirked at cops | The Sun
THIS is the chilling moment a smirking neighbour calmly walked away after setting a fire that killed a mum and her two daughters.
Jamie Barrow poured petrol through the letterbox of Fatoumatta Hydara's flat in Nottingham then set the home ablaze.
The 31-year-old then "casually" walked away despite hearing screams coming from the property.
Tragically, Fatoumatta, 28, Naeemah, one, and Fatimah Drammeh, three, all died in the blaze.
Their devastated loved ones wept today as Barrow was found guilty of murder.
He was also found guilty of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
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Chilling footage released by police shows the moment Barrow walked away from the home while smoking a cigarette as the fire took hold.
He later smirked at police as he asked them how "bad" the blaze was before spending time with evacuated neighbours at Nottingham Trent University.
When police went to obtain a witness report from him, Barrow told them: “I need to tell you something about the fire next door.”
He then bowed his head and held his hands out in front of him as though he wanted to be handcuffed.
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The killer later said: "I was going to hand myself in at Clifton Police Station anyway today."
Nottingham Crown Court was told Barrow had a raised a "grievance" about bags of rubbish being left in an alleyway behind their block of flats around a month before the blaze.
On November 20 last year, Fatoumatta and her children were sleeping when the evil neighbour set fire to their home.
Barrow had the same layout of flat as the family so knew the front door was the only way in and out, leaving them effectively "trapped" as the flames took hold.
He then stood outside doing "nothing to help" as the mum and her children screamed for help.
Around five minutes later, Barrow walked away as the family were left for dead inside with no way to escape.
In his evidence, he claimed he did not realise Fatoumatta and her two children were home when he set the fire.
But CCTV showed him walking past the flat while a light was on to buy beer on two separate occasions.
A pushchair was also kept in the hallway whenever the mum was in and the children had been "loud and excited" while Fatoumatta spoke to her mum on the phone.
Barrow claimed he was "mesmerised" by flames and used fire to "release stress".
He said he could not remember everything from the hours leading up to the fire but recalled feeling like "an elastic band went off in my head".
Barrow added: "I knew I was going to set fire to something, I just didn't know what."
The killer, who previously admitted three counts of manslaughter, will be sentenced at a later date.
Fatoumatta's husband Aboubacarr Drammeh, 40, had raced back from America after the fire tore through the family home in November.
Tragically, his wife and children were planning to join him in the US where he worked as a biomedical technologist.
The family said today in a joint statement: “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 multigenerational trauma that we will never understand.
“Fatoumatta was a caring daughter, wife, sister, mother and friend. If love and compassion could make a person immortal, she would have lived forever.
“She had a pure heart and was greatly loved for her personality and qualities.
“She was the most incredible mother to Fatimah and Naeemah, two angels who deserved a beautiful childhood and a full life.
“Nottingham and the rest of the world have been denied potential future teachers, civil servants, doctors – who knows what they could have been?
“They lived a short but meaningful life, such was the joy and happiness they brought to us all."
Barrow will be sentenced on Friday.
Detective Inspector Kaz Smithson, who led the investigation, said: “Jamie Barrow committed the most despicable crime anyone could ever commit. He destroyed a whole family and took away their dreams of a happy life together in America.
“Today, justice has been served for Fatoumatta, Fatimah and Naeemah and their family, all of whom have carried themselves with incredible dignity since the night of this truly awful crime.
“Barrow denied the killings were deliberate but, thankfully, my investigative team was able to provide overwhelming evidence that this tragic event was indeed murder.
“We saw through his lies and, thankfully, so did the jury.
“Barrow knew Fatoumatta and the children were inside the property when he set fire to it and that they’d have no chance of surviving.
“It beggars belief. In my opinion Barrow is an extremely dangerous man and I am pleased he is no longer walking the streets.
“Finally, I want to thank the family for the dignity and incredible strength that they shown during the trial and hope they can draw some comfort from today’s verdicts.”
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