2016: ALCESTER MAN DANIEL WATKINS IS JAILED FOR 10 YEARS AFTER SETTING FIRE TO EX'S CRADLEY HEATH HOME WITH HER AND HER CHILD INSIDE
A man who set fire to his former partner's home in Cradley Heath while she and her six-year-old daughter were inside has been sentenced to a decade in prison.The woman woke to find Daniel Watkins, 34, inside the house after their relationship had ended.
He threatened her by saying, "I am going to set this alight and you are going to burn in hell for what you did to me." Fortunately, the mother, whose name cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, managed to lower her daughter from an upstairs window after Watkins, who resides in Alcester, fled the scene, according to prosecutor Howard Searle.
Watkins later told Wolverhampton Crown Court that the woman was able to escape from the Chapelhouse Lane property just as emergency crews arrived to extinguish the fire set on June 3 this year.
He added that neither the mother nor her daughter sustained injuries, although both suffered from nightmares following the traumatic event.
In a victim statement, the mother told police that Watkins knew the daughter was the only way to hurt her and was determined to do so in the harshest way possible.
Watkins, of Smiths Close, admitted two counts of arson with intent to endanger life.
Judge James Burbidge QC stated that the severity of the offense warranted a substantial jail term.
Earlier, Watkins had denied two charges of attempted murder, which the prosecution accepted.
The court heard that Watkins and the woman had an on-off relationship, and after its final rupture, he sent her a threatening message.
Concerned for her safety, she briefly stayed at her mother’s home before returning to the Chapelhouse Lane residence.
Not long after, she awoke to find Watkins inside the house, and after starting the fire, he quickly escaped.
The mother was able to reach her daughter’s bedroom, evacuate her, contact emergency services, and call for assistance from neighbors.
Watkins expressed remorse in court, stating, “I hope I can get help.
I am sorry for the family.”
