Chatham family murder accused Danai Muhammadi 'blackmailed'

Mr Muhammadi said the anonymous blackmail note threatened his 15-month-old son with kidnap

A man accused of killing his son, estranged wife and father-in-law in an arson attack in Kent has told jurors how a man tried to blackmail him.

Danai Muhammadi, 24, of Britannia Street, Coventry, denies three counts of murder over the fire in Chatham.

He told Maidstone Crown Court that a mystery man threatened his family and demanded £5,000 in a handwritten note.

He said he was asked to bring the cash to a rendezvous point last September, but did not hand any money over.

'Not a game'

The date of the alleged rendezvous came hours before Melissa Crook, 20, their 15-month-old son, Noah, and Mrs Crook's father, Mark Crook, 49, were killed in an arson attack at the family home in Chatham Hill in Chatham.

Mr Crook suffered severe burns in the fire and died six days later in hospital.

Prosecutors allege Iraqi-born Mr Muhammadi was the "principal figure" behind the arson attack, which took place just before 02:30 BST on 10 September, following the breakdown of his short-lived marriage to Ms Crook.

Speaking through an interpreter, he told the court the anonymous note threatened his son with kidnap and the burning down of the family home or car unless the demand was met.

Mr Muhammadi said the same anonymous man who had telephoned him four times previously claimed to have written the letter.

He added that no demands for cash had been made during the phone calls, although during one call he said he was told that his estranged wife and son had been injured after their car had been set on fire.

The fire was started in the early hours of 10 September at the two-storey terraced house

Mr Muhammadi told the court the letter said "that it's not a game, to bring that money with me and don't lose the chance, otherwise serious things will happen and then I will be responsible for it".

Speaking on the second day of giving evidence, he said he had not contacted the police about the threatening letter but had shown it to Mrs Crook.

However, he said that he had taken the letter seriously when it had "touched upon Noah".

Two other defendants, Mr Muhammadi's girlfriend, unemployed Emma Smith, 21, of Barley Lea, Stoke Aldermoor, Coventry, and Mr Muhammadi's friend, Farhad Mahmud, a 35-year-old door supervisor, of Fernhill Road, Maidstone, also deny three counts of murder.

All three defendants deny two counts of attempted murder in relation to other members of Ms Crook's family who managed to get out of the burning house.

The court has been told petrol was squirted through the letter-box of the family's three-bedroom home.

The fire that was then started at the bottom of the stairs cut off the escape route for the family, who were asleep upstairs.

The trial continues.