A triple killer who murdered a mum, baby and toddler in their own home by pouring petrol through the letterbox has been jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 44 years.
Jamie Barrow killed Fatoumatta Hydara and her two young daughters Fatimah Drammeh, three, and Naeemah Drammeh, one, in Clifton, Nottingham last November.
Husband and father Aboubacarr Drammeh heartbreakingly addressed his wife and children's killer in court and said he wished he could swap places with his little girls.
As Barrow was jailed today, the distraught father told him: "Because of you, and only you, I failed in my only responsibility as a father. I was not there, I should have been. I had a responsibility as a father and a husband to protect, that was my basic responsibility. I make no excuses."
Mr Drammeh had to listen to the evidence as Barrow pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and went on trial at Nottingham Crown Court, but was eventually found guilty by a jury.
Fatimah and Naeemah, described by their dad as "typical British kids" both died in the blaze and Mrs Hydara, 28, died two days later, with all three succumbing to smoke inhalation. Their heartbroken father had to identify their little bodies on his own 40th birthday.
Mr Drammer told the murderer: "I was hopeless, and I was left helpless, because I didn’t have a family, and it was the people who mattered most to me. Since then, it has been a downward plunge into darkness and the unknown. It was unthinkable, it was unplanned, and I wish this on no one else, including you. Two little angels, their lifeless bodies laying next to each other. I held their whole hands. I wished I could switch with them."
Prosecutors told the trial that Barrow, who lived in the neighbouring flat, had a "grievance" over rubbish being left in an alleyway and watched the fire take hold while ignoring screams coming from inside.
The brazen murderer was even caught on police bodycam footage minutes after the fire started grinning at the cops and asking "how bad is it?" before joining his other neighbours who had been evacuated from their homes.
Barrow had already admitted manslaughter but a jury of seven men and four women unanimously convicted him of murder after almost seven hours of deliberations. He was also found guilty of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
Bodycam footage from the moment police arrived at Barrow's door to arrest him, saw him tell officers: “I need to tell you something about the fire next door." He added that he was about to hand himself in before holding out both his hands as if he expected to be handcuffed.
While giving his evidence, Barrow said he "can't explain" why he chose to target the neighbouring flat but had formed the opinion that no one was inside as he had not seen or heard his neighbours in the days leading up to the fire.
He had been suffering from a "very, very low mood" and was "wallowing in self-pity" in the days and hours before his actions, caused partially by his emotionally unstable personality disorder.
He told the court he did not expect the fire to take hold as rapidly as it did and said he was driven to admit what he had done to police officers due to "an immense amount of guilt", telling police: "I need to tell you something about the fire next door."
The jury heard that Barrow found starting fires "cathartic" and gave "zero" consideration to the consequences of his actions, rejecting his assertion that he had not intended to harm anyone when starting the fatal blaze.
Speaking after the verdict, husband and father Aboubacarr Drammeh said “words cannot quantify” his family’s pain. He read a joint family statement on the steps of the court this afternoon.
He 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 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.”
Today, during sentencing Mr Drammeh added: "Thank you for the time. First, I want to start by giving you a brief timeline of my last moment with Fatimah and the girls.
"When I left at the end of the my trip in the early morning of September 7, 2022 it did not occur to me I would not see them alive again. The kids were asleep, I leaned over the baby crib that was right next to the wall and I kissed Naeemah Drammeh on the forehead.
“I crawled on the bed and kissed Fatimah Drammeh on the forehead. Fatoumatta was standing at the door and in a very emotional voice said ‘a taxi is waiting’. We hugged, and kissed, and exchanged ‘I love you’ I walked down the stairs and closed that door. Everything was normal, just as we had done countless times.”
He added: “On that evening of November 19, the conversation was normal. I went to sleep, took a nap, went to bed at night and woke up for early morning prayers. While I was praying, my phone started ringing continuously. I thought it was Fatoumatta, wanting to FaceTime. We all know it wasn’t. It was my mother-in-law and my sister, so I called back my mother-in-law and she said there was an accident and the kids did not survive and Fatoumatta was in the ICU.
“But it wasn’t an accident, was it?”
He refers to Barrow, who has sat silent in the dock, as “a coward who knew exactly what he was doing and exactly when to do it”. “On November 8 2022, when we acknowledged the email that we had a Visa interview at the US embassy in London on November 29, I bought a ticket so I could be with them.”
Mr Drammeh explains how he returned to the UK on November 21 and visited his wife, Mrs Hydara, as she was in intensive care. He talked of the pain of having to identify his children’s bodies on November 23, his 40th birthday.
He added: “I was hopeless, and I was left helpless, because I didn’t have a family, and it was the people who mattered most to me. Since then, it has been a downward plunge into darkness and the unknown. It was unthinkable, it was unplanned, and I wish this on no one else, including you. Two little angels, their lifeless bodies laying next to each other. I held their whole hands. I wished I could switch with them.
“Only Allah knows why. I have to accept and prepare for the next chapter of my life. All I can say is I am sorry.
“I was not there, I should have been. I had a responsibility as a father and a husband to protect, that was my basic responsibility. I make no excuses."
Again addressing Barrow, Mr Drammeh says: “Because of you, and only you, I failed in my only responsibility as a father.
“I can guarantee there are four grandparents and two great grandparents who would have traded their lives for these people. “Because of you, you didn’t give them a choice. You took something they cherished.
"Fatoumatta and I were happy, grateful, to be parents. Our goal was to do our best to raise them to be good citizens and to teach them about our religion and culture. She had a clear vision and goal for them. They had to be good citizens, nothing less. Little Fatimah was enjoying making Nottingham her home.
“I guess you can imagine now how many times I have cried. I know they will not come back. Every time I came back for the trial I went there (the scene of the fire) at least once. I don’t know what is helping me to heal, but I hope it will help. Crying is a part of me.”
Speaking about his girls, the proud father added: "Fatimah loved the Teletubbies, she knew all the colours and the names. I would call them the wrong names, and she would say ‘no, it’s this’. She loved Mr Tumble and Friends."
He says a backpack bought for Fatimah, found after the fire, “still smells of smoke”. He recalls how Fatimah remembered the names of tram stops in Nottingham, and sounds trams made.
“Because of you, and your actions, I find it difficult to ride a tram. Naeemah was just a baby. She enjoyed watching TV shows and CBeebies. They were typical British kids. We enjoyed the same things that you enjoyed.
“I was working and preparing potential college funds for them, getting a house we could call our home. I am naive – I knew death would come, but I did not think it would come this soon. We didn’t want this.
"You had choices, but you chose otherwise. Hate, anger, destruction, I don’t know, but of all the choices you had, you chose the most damaging of all. I am angry, I am sad, I am hurt, I am heartbroken. At the same time, I am grateful for them being a part of me. I am grateful for Fatoumatta and the kids, as they made me a better person.”
“I have no hatred to anybody in the world, including you.
“But because of you, all our actions, our plans, are now suspended. I can’t even go back to think about things I planned to do with you and the kids. I cannot. This is my new life. This is what has become of me, because of you.
"I am a father, I am a husband. I was a father, I was a husband. On that night, I was not there. I don’t know what will happen to you. We will all hear when My Lady speaks. What I do know is that most days it feels like I am serving a life sentence.
“You, Jamie Edwin Barrow, acted like the judge and jury on that night, and sentenced me to this. Whatever my life will become, I don’t know, you acted like a judge and jury on that day. There will never be a point in my life where I hate you. Your actions, for the rest of my life, though, I cannot like, and I hope that is fair to you.”
Barrow remained silent throughout the victim impact statement, looking at Mr Drammeh for much of it, but occasionally bowing his head. He appeared to nod as Mr Drammeh read out his last sentence.
Speaking following Jamie Barrow’s conviction for murder, Samantha Shallow, head of the Crown Prosecution Service East Midlands complex casework unit, said: “The loss of these three lives is a tragedy for their loved ones and their community.
“The case we have put in front of the jury is that Jamie Barrow wanted to harm someone by setting a fire and three innocent people died as a result.
“There was never any question that this was a case of murder. He knew exactly what he was doing and what the consequences would be when he set the fire. The community have rightfully demanded justice, and today justice has been served. Our thoughts and sincere sympathies remain with those close to Mrs Hydara, Fatimah and Naeemah.”
During sentencing Mrs Justice Tipples said: “Fatoumatta Hydara was a young woman full of compassion and love.
“She was a caring and devoted daughter, wife, mother, sister and friend. She was 28, married to Aboubacarr Drammeh and the mother of two beautiful little girls, Fatimah who was three, and Naeemah who was one.
“Their short lives were full of joy and happiness, and they brought joy and happiness to all those who knew and met them.”
She later said: “The impact on Aboubacarr has been devastating. His loss has been immeasurable, yet his dignity throughout this trial and in this court today has been truly remarkable.
“Likewise, Fatoumatta’s mother, Aminata Dibba, has said Fatoumatta was a light for her, and now she is gone, her world is dark and empty.”
She added: “Fatoumatta and her two small children were asleep in their beds in their own home. You knew they were all home, asleep, and you knew they would have no chance whatsoever.
“Seconds after you lit the fire you heard the fire alarm in the flat go off. You did nothing. Seconds after that you heard Fatoumatta screaming from the flat. You did nothing.
“Rather, you stood and watched the fire take hold, and you stood there watching the fire develop and spread for five minutes, which was an enormous length of time in the circumstances.”
