Man sentenced to a whole life term for murdering two people in flat fire in Reading

A man has been sentenced to a whole life term in prison for murder after deliberately setting fire to a block of flats in Reading in which two residents died.

32-year-old Hakeem Kigundu, formerly of Rowe Court in Reading, was sentenced after a two-day hearing at Reading Crown Court having previously pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm and one count of arson with intent to endanger life.

Mr Juctice Holgate said of Kigundu " I do not accept that any real remorse has been shown. Acceptance of guilt yes, but not remorse.

"He intended to cause as much damage and harm as possible and, in particular, he intended to cause the death of occupants in the building. Mr Morris and Mr Burgess must have suffered a terrifying death, desperately trying to escape via the staircase and choking on the fumes from the fire in very high temperatures.

"He planned to commit the attack at night, because that would reduce the chance of a resident discovering that huge amounts of petrol had been spread in the rear lobby leading to the staircase on the ground floor and some on the second floor landing. That would also substantially increase the chances of causing death and serious injury."

The incident

At around 0245am on 15 December 2021, Kigundu started a fire at a block of flats in Rowe Court, Reading, where he had been a resident.

He used 50 litres of petrol to turn the block of twenty-four flats into a fireball.

The fire quickly spread, causing major damage to the building, trapping residents inside.

Two of the residents, Richard Burgess, aged 46, and Neil Morris, aged 45, were killed.

Two other people were seriously injured as a result of Kigundu’s actions.

A large emergency service presence was required at the scene and a major incident was declared.

The building was so badly damaged it was too dangerous to recover the bodies and it took many weeks before recovery teams were able to retrieve the remains of the victims.

Background

In the weeks leading up to the attack Hakeem Kigundu had lost his job and was told he'd be evicted after neighbours had complained about his anti-social behaviour.

Joel Richards was one of Kigundu's neighbours:

"Everybody was really apprehensive of this guy, I was from day one because he would just walk past you and barge you for no reason at all, or sit in his van with his lights on in your window for like five hours with his windows open while you were trying to sleep.

"The eviction was the catalyst to him doing all this. That was his eviction day the 15th of December that was the day he was supposed to be moving, me and Richard (Burgess) were counting down we were like 'he'll be gone soon' no more loud music, no more attitude, no more van's revving up, no more bizarre behaviour you know at night he'd just act really strange."

In the early hours of the day he'd been due to leave Kigundu - an illegal immigrant from Uganda - took out his anger on the residents and turned the block of flats in Rowe Court into a giant petrol bomb.

In the middle of the night he spread fifty litres of fuel inside and outside the block of flats.

The subsequent fire quickly took hold and within minutes exploded into a deadly fireball blowing out windows and doors,

Joel - helped save two of his neighbours before jumping to safety - he describes the moment he realised his life was in danger:

 "I heard this noise through the window and this guy was shouting downstairs. So I then looked out of my window and asked 'what's the matter?' he said 'this guy has just set the place on fire you have to get out' I said 'I can't jump there's lots of people still in the building we need to try and save them' he replied 'I don't think you've got time the whole back of the building is on fire', but I thought I'd try anyway.

"I went out the door and tripped on something. It was a body so I tried to grab this person, but there's smoke in my eyes and the petrol fumes I kept smelling it, but I grabbed him and tried to move him but my hands were just catching on fire so I thought I can't do anything so I I've just got to kick in the door next door and try and get them out."

Joel's neighbours were in shock but he managed to persuade them to jump and he followed them to safety.

As emergency services from across Berkshire arrived at the scene Kigundu drove to Reading Police station and gave himself up.

Detective Inspector Susan Spencer from the Thames Valley Major Crime Unit says he called a 999 operator from a phone outside the Police station saying he'd committed 'a bit of arson'.

In the weeks that followed he denied he'd intended to murder anyone saying he'd had suicidal tendencies adding that he wasn't bothered by the eviction and that the fuel was to help him drive away from Reading to find a new part of the country to live and work in.

The prosecution queried this suggesting that if it were true why couldn't he have just stopped at petrol stations.

Police spoke to dozens of witnesses, found CCTV of him collecting fuel from various petrol station, and used evidence from expert fire investigators to piece together the true picture.

DI Spencer says it became clear he'd planned the attack:

"We found a voice note which was recorded on his mobile phone on the 9th of December (six days before the attack) which appears to demonstrate his feelings of animosity towards other people, whilst not directly referencing people at Rowe Court.

"We also discovered he'd purchased fuel containers on e-bay and in the weeks leading up to the attack attended several local petrol stations to acquire approximately 50 litres of fuel.

"I believe Mr Kigundu had attracted complaints about noise including loud music and gaming from residents in Rowe Court this led to the cancellation of his tenancy and he was facing eviction on the day of this incident.

"In October we also discovered Mr Kigundu had lost his job so I think it's the culmination of those two incidents that has created an anger inside him an animosity towards the residents of Rowe Court leading to this attack."

A few weeks ago Kigundu pleaded guilty sparing the families of the victims and the dozens of other people who were affected by the fire, the further trauma of sitting through a trial.

The fire destroyed twenty-four apartments leaving dozens of people without a home or possessions just ten days before Christmas.

In victim impact statements they talked about how the fire had either left them fearful of petrol fumes and heights, other spoke of suicidal thoughts and post traumatic stress.

Bereaved families had to wait more than seven weeks for the bodies of their loved ones to be retrieved and formally identified due to the extent of the damage to the building.

DI Spencer says it was a tragic incident:

"It's one of the worst investigations I've had to deal with especially with regard to the two deceased Neil and Richard and the complexity of the investigation not being able to return them to their loved ones for many weeks due to the nature of the building and the scene we were dealing with, but also the fact that this happened at three in the morning when people were asleep in their beds and everyone in Rowe Court being caught up in that and being forced to leave and not return and lose all their possessions."

Nearly a year later Joel says he feels guilty for making it out alive and wonders if he could have saved his friend and neighbour Richard:

"I know Richard (Burgess) was trying to get to my door and that's what bothers me more, the fact I know where he was, I know it was my door he was trying to get to, and you do think if it was a minute or two minutes earlier could I have saved him"

Joel like many of the survivors is still trying to recover his life - he's still in temporary accommodation and receiving treatment for post traumatic stress.

Kigundu had no previous criminal record - he was a bad tenant who turned into an evil one.

Victims

Neil Morris, 45-years-old

Neil's family released the following statement:

“Neil Morris, known to most as Boz, was born and raised in Shropshire. He had lived in Reading for the past twenty years having recently purchased a top floor flat at Rowe Court.

“He had worked for the NHS as a Risk Information Analyst for the past fourteen years.

“He had a great sense of humour, was intelligent, knowledgeable, a talented artist and a creative writer.

“Neil was a dearly loved son, brother, brother-in-law, uncle and a dear and loyal friend to many.

“We, Neil’s family, have been left devastated and heartbroken, our loss is unbearable.”

Richard Burgess, 46-years-old

Richard Burgess’ mother said she will “never be happy again” after losing her son in such a “horrific” way.

In a statement read to the court at the sentencing hearing, she said: “People ask how I am, and I reply that I’m alright because there’s no point saying anything else.

“But I’m not alright and I never will be. It’s not the natural order of things to lose a child.”

Hear all the latest news from the North East of Scotland on Northsound 1. Listen on FM, via our Rayo app, DAB, or smart speaker.

• Reading