by Dan Bloom

A husband who murdered his wife, toddler son and father-in-law in a devastating arson attack has been jailed for life.

Danai Muhammadi (pictured left) must serve at least 38 years before he can be considered for release, Mr Justice Sweeney told Maidstone Crown Court.

Fellow defendant Farhad Mahmud was also jailed for life following the triple fatal arson attack. He must serve at least 34 years.

Both will have the 292 days already served deducted from the sentence.

Muhammadi's girlfriend Emma Smith was jailed for 14 years for manslaughter after earlier being acquitted of the murders by a 10-2 majority verdict.

All three were emotionless as their sentences were passed.

Mr Justice Sweeney told Muhammadi the decision to burn his in-laws' house down was not the product of any mental illness.

He said: "It was a decision reached, in my view, out of anger, spite and resentment. It can truly be described as one of pure, selfish wickedness."

The court earlier heard Muhammadi “denied and continues to deny” setting fire to his in-laws’ home in Chatham Hill, Chatham, last year.

"it can truly be described as (a decision) of pure, selfish wickedness" – mr justice sweeney on muhammadi

Muhammadi drove 140 miles from his Coventry home with his girlfriend Emma Smith on September 10, filled a garden sprayer with petrol and pumped it through the letterbox of number 210 Chatham Hill with his friend Farhad Mahmud (pictured below).

His wife Melissa Crook, 20, who left him earlier last year, was trapped in her bedroom with their 15-month-old son Noah.

The fireball which engulfed the house caused horrific burns to Melissa’s father Mark, 49, who was trapped in his bedroom window trying to escape.

The court heard today he was still responding to the touch of family members in the six days before he died in East Grinstead Hospital.

Melissa’s brother Bohdan, 22, and mother Amanda, 50, escaped the blaze.

A six-week murder trial found 24-year-old Muhammadi, of Britannia Street, Coventry, and Mahmud, 35, of Fernhill Road, Maidstone, guilty of three murders and two attempted murders on June 1.

In Passing sentence, Mr Justice Sweeney described the horrifying moments after the fire caught hold.

He said: "No-one who heard the evidence in this case will ever forget Mrs Crook’s description of how in trying to escape, her husband became stuck in their bedroom window.

"Unable to extricate himself, she had to stand and watch as his lower half was burned by the fire, with that part of the ordeal only coming to an end when an explosion blew out the window frame.

"Melissa and Noah’s last moments, and certainly Melissa’s, must have been ones of abject terror.

"It is no thanks to you two (Muhammadi and Mahmud) that Amanda Crook and Bohdan Crook escaped the fate that you intended for them.”

He described the breakdown in the relationship between Muhammadi and Melissa Crook.

He said of the time Melissa left Muhammadi: “Your control gone, and your pride wounded, you tried to get her back… only to be rebuffed again. Your anger began to grow and at points spilt out into threats.

“If she didn’t return to you then no-one was going to have either her or Noah."

Maidstone Crown Court heard earlier heard two hours of mitigation for the trio.

Timothy Barnes QC, for Muhammadi, said he was clearly the "prime mover" but murdering members of his own family should not earn him a longer jail term.

"It might be said that a murder of a stranger has an aggravating feature every bit as serious as murder in a domestic setting," he said.

Mr Barnes said "cultural differences" played a part, saying Melissa left a "stain on his honour" when she left him. Muhammadi is a Muslim.

"Perhaps your lordship will consider it was difficult for Mr Muhammadi to accept, from his background, the type of freedoms which she would accept quite rightly as part and parcel of the marriage," he said.

The court heard a psychiatric report found Muhammadi had no mental disorder but "the interview was constrained by the fact that he denied and continues to deny any responsibility for the killings."

Martin Yale, prosecuting, handed the judge six statements by members of the Crook family which he said showed "the devastation felt by the family".

Muhammadi left the dock and family members left court as the full detail of Melissa's and Noah's injuries were read out for the first time.

Ian Glen QC, for Mahmud, said the second man was "a passenger on the night, during the trial and even now”.

He added: "His presence was not necessary and we would submit the offence would still have taken place without him.

"This rather simple-minded man made a disastrous and impulsive decision to go along with his compatriot. It may have been some misguided loyalty that motivated him."

Alan Kent QC, for Smith, 22, of Barley Lea, Coventry, said she had a very low IQ and played a "minimal role" in the attack as she was in Maidstone when it was carried out.

"She falls into a wholly different category," he said. "This is an arson attack and a murder that would have taken place whether she was there or not."

But Mr Justice Sweeney told Smith: "You tried to bluff your way out, including telling lies in your interview on something of an epic scale.

"You fought the case: In you, too, I have yet to see a shred of genuine remorse."

In sentencing, the judge paid tribute to the Crook family, who had "conducted themselves with dignity and forebearance."