5 months ago
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A man who killed a mother and her two daughters by setting fire to a flat has had his sentence reduced.
Fatoumatta Hydara, 28, died with Fatimah and Naeemah Drammeh, aged three and one, when their home in Clifton, Nottingham, was set ablaze in 2022.
Neighbour Jamie Barrow was convicted of three counts of murder for deliberately starting the fire and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 44 years.
The Court of Appeal reduced it to 38 years on Tuesday.
Lord Justice Singh, Mr Justice Jay and Judge Mayo said the original sentence was "manifestly excessive in the circumstances of this case", but also expressed "sincere sympathy" for the family of the deceased.
"Nothing in this judgement should be taken in any way to detract from the gravity of the offences committed by this appellant," they said.
The court heard Barrow had drunk "seven or eight" cans of lager before getting fuel from his motorbike and setting fire to his neighbours' flat in Fairisle Close.
While he said he believed the property was empty, his trial was told a pram in the hallway showed the family was at home, with prosecutors claiming he did nothing when he heard their screams.
Barrow was seen on CCTV walking away from the burning flat with his dog while smoking a cigarette before returning to the scene and asking emergency services about the severity of the blaze.
When defending himself in court, he said he was "wallowing in self-pity" before starting the fire, citing his emotionally unstable personality disorder, and said he suffered "an immense amount of guilt" for causing the deaths.
After he was sentenced, the family of the deceased said Barrow's actions were "utterly heartless and cruel", and had "caused a multigenerational trauma that we will never understand".
