Clifton flat fire murder accused claims he thought home was empty and apologises
Jamie Barrow told a police officer ‘I need to tell you something about the fire next door’ hours after he lit the blaze that killed three people.
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The man accused of murdering a mother and two children in a flat fire has apologised to his victims’ family, saying he is sorry from “the bottom of my heart”.
Jamie Barrow said “there is nothing that I can say or do to even come close to saying how sorry I am” for starting the blaze that killed his neighbours, Fatoumatta Hydara, Naeemah Drammeh and Fatimah Drammeh, in Fairisle Close, Clifton, Nottingham.
The 31-year-old said he believed the family’s flat was empty when he torched it in the early hours of November 20 last year, claiming his “heart sank” when he realised people were inside.
He had drunk several cans of alcohol before he lit the fire and said was later driven to admit his actions to a police officer by “an immense amount of guilt”.
There is nothing that I can say or do that will ever come close to saying how sorry I am
Giving evidence for the first time at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, Barrow said: “Every day since I have done it, I have regretted the loss of life and the fact that ultimately, I caused it.
“I would like to apologise to the family and say I am sorry from the bottom of my heart.
“There is nothing that I can say or do that will ever come close to saying how sorry I am.”
The victims’ relatives, who have packed the public gallery since the trial started on June 12, remained silent as Barrow apologised.
Mrs Hydara, 28, died two days after the fire, while Fatimah, three, and Naeemah, one, both died in the blaze, with all three succumbing to smoke inhalation.
Barrow lit the fire after filling a bottle with petrol from his motorbike and pouring it through his victims’ letterbox before lighting it with tissue paper, later asking whether he could receive compensation for smoke damage to his property.
But while being questioned by his defence KC, Christopher Henley, Barrow said he believed the flat to be empty and had no intention of harming anyone, adding that while he “can’t explain” why he targeted Mrs Hydara’s flat, he “didn’t think it would cause any harm”.
He said he had not seen or heard from any of the flat’s occupants for “three or four days” and so targeted it as he had “formed the opinion that they were not in”.
I can't explain why I picked the victim's flat. I have got no explanation for that
Barrow, who has Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD), had been suffering from a “very, very low mood” in the days and hours before his actions, deciding to light the fire after “an elastic band snapped” in his head.
He said: “I got a bottle, took the lid off it, put some gloves on, went downstairs, filled the bottle with petrol and then went round to the address and started the fire.”
He added: “It wasn’t until I started filling it [the bottle] that I realised what I was going to set fire to.
“I knew I was going to set fire to something, I just didn’t know what.
“I can’t explain why I picked the victim’s flat. I have got no explanation for that.
“It wasn’t a thought as much as it was an impulse.”
Mrs Hydara and her two children were away from the property for three days, returning to the property on the afternoon of November 19, before Barrow started the fire in the early hours of November 20.
After lighting the fire, Barrow said he “panicked” as he “was not expecting it to go up like that”, but he denied hearing any noises or screams, something prosecutors say could be heard from inside the flat seconds after the fire started.
He said that he would have “raised the alarm” if he had heard noises and “would not have done it” if he knew someone was inside the property in the preceding days.
But upon being told by a neighbour that three people had been brought out of the flat, Barrow said: “My heart sank. I realised that I had done something terrible.”
Barrow, a father-of-one, was diagnosed with EUPD in 2013 but had taken the decision to stop taking anti-psychotic medication in July last year – a decision that he admitted in court was “wrong”.
His stress had increased in the days leading up to the fire due to having to care for his son for a fortnight.
On the night of the fire, Barrow said he drank “seven or eight” cans of San Miguel lager and was “wallowing in self-pity”, while also listening to “depressing” music and suffering from flashbacks of abuse suffered in childhood, which led him to have suicidal thoughts.
In texts to a friend, sent around three hours before he lit the fire, he said he felt like “I’m less than pond scum” and said: “I feel like there is no escape from the constant feeling of uselessness and inadequacy.”
Speaking in court, Barrow said he had “turned reclusive” and “had, for all intents and purposes, given up”.
I realised the enormity of what I had done and I felt an immense amount of guilt for obviously causing the deaths of those three people
Barrow was arrested on the afternoon of November 20 while police were conducting routine enquiries with residents of neighbouring properties, telling an officer “I need to tell you something about the fire next door”.
Mr Henley said: “You later bowed your head and then held your hands out in front of you. Why did you do that?”
“I was handing myself in, essentially,” Barrow replied.
Mr Henley asked: “Why did you want to admit starting the fire?”
Barrow responded: “Because I realised the enormity of what I had done and I felt an immense amount of guilt for obviously causing the deaths of those three people.
“I just wanted to be in custody because I knew what I had done was wrong.”
Mr Henley asked: “When you started the fire, was it your intention to cause serious harm or the deaths of anybody?”
Barrow replied: “No, it was not.”
During cross-examination by prosecutor, Simon Ash KC, Barrow denied seeing a light that would have indicated people were in the flat or a black and silver pushchair outside the door.
He had earlier told the court that he had started fires from the age of 14, including setting a fire in a commercial bin on his 18th birthday, because it “relaxes” him and relieves stress, something he discovered at the age of around 11.
He said: “It chills me out and takes me, to a certain extent, out of the headspace that I’m in at the current time by calming it.”
I understand that I am responsible for the deaths of three individuals who sadly died, but I had no intent to actually kill them
Mr Henley asked: “How much thought do you give to the consequences of starting a fire?”
“Zero,” Barrow replied.
“As part of my personality is disordered, and I have impulse management issues, I struggle to manage my impulses and I don’t always think about the consequences of my actions.”
The defendant has already admitted to three counts of manslaughter but denies three counts of murder and a charge of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
“I understand that I am responsible for the deaths of three individuals who sadly died, but I had no intent to actually kill them,” Barrow said.
The trial continues.