Estranged husband of Eddy Grant's niece, 36, 'sent her a WhatsApp message saying ''I hope you suffer and die'' hours before he killed her in an arson attack', court hears

Mrs Keane-Simmons, a teaching assistant whose mother was married to the Electric Avenue musician's brother, was found on her bedroom floor 

The estranged husband of Eddy Grant's niece sent her a WhatsApp message saying 'I hope you suffer and die' hours before he killed her in an arson attack, a court has heard.

Damion Simmons, 45, allegedly poured petrol on Denise Keane-Simmons and set her on fire in the bedroom of her home in Harlesden, north London, on April 16 last year.

Mrs Keane-Simmons, 36, died in hospital, having suffered extensive burns and smoke inhalation.

On Thursday, jurors were played an eight-second voice note allegedly sent to the victim by Simmons via WhatsApp earlier on the night of the blaze.

It said: 'I hope you suffer and die just like how I suffer and die before I go. I really hope you suffer and die.'

The court has heard police had visited Mrs Keane-Simmons's home several times over complaints about the defendant's behaviour since they split up.

On the evening of April 15, officers had responded to a report she made that Simmons had posted a naked picture of her on Instagram.

The officers left around 40 minutes before the teaching assistant's home was engulfed in flames.

Police went on to find two other photographs on Simmons's phone allegedly taken using a spy camera inside the victim's home.

Today a firefighter told how he battled through smoke and flames to try and save the life of Eddy Grant's niece after her husband set her home on fire.

Forensics at the scene of the fire in Brent, North West London, in April 2020

Nathan Harriot, based at Willesden fire station, said he entered the house with colleague Paul Hunt.

'The whole of the downstairs appeared to be alight. We went upstairs and I led with the hose reel,' he said. 'Firefighter Hunt was behind me with the thermal imaging camera.'

The smoke was thick and they had to crouch because 'you could not stand up for fear of melting your helmet,' said Mr Harriot. The front bedroom was locked and they had to kick the door down to get in, the court heard.

'The visibility was very poor. It was black with heavy smoke so I was relying on feeling my way around,' he said. 'Firefighter Hunt was relying on the thermal imaging camera to find any heat sources to help us.

The Old Bailey heard Simmons broke into her home, poured petrol over her before setting it alight. Pictured, a charred building with a broken front door following the fire

'I was concerned because I had not found anybody and told Hunt this. He said there must be someone because that was what he had been told.

'At this point I put my hand out towards the floor between the bed and the wall.

'I felt that the wall had items on it. But on the floor between these items and the bed there was a very small space. I reached my hand between and felt what I thought could be a human foot.

'I realised I had to move the bed out of the way and reach forward to confirm whether it was a person or not. I pulled the right hand bottom corner of the bed away towards the centre of the room.

'I only saw the person and the outline of their shape thanks to the torches on my helmet and chest when I was very close, within arms reach of the person. The person was lying on their right hand side, facing towards the bed in a foetal position.

'I think one of their legs was stretched out a bit was because that was the foot I had grabbed.'

The firefighter thought that Mrs Keane-Simmons was a child because she was so small.

'The person wasn't moving and I didn't know if they were alive or dead. I did not see any signs of life,' he said.

'The person was limp to the touch, like a rag doll and I assumed that due to the smoke and fire damage they were unconscious at the very least.

'I thought perhaps the person may have placed themselves between the wall and he bed in a foetal position whilst panicking about the fire.

'The room was hot as it was directly above the fire at the front of the house.

'I thought perhaps the person had tried to cover themselves and get to a position as far away from the door as possible.

Eddy Grant was a founding member of The Equals and had a successful solo career with the hit single Electric Avenue

'I thought it was strange that the bedroom door upstairs had been locked from the inside.

'I knew that I had to get this person out of the house as soon as possible.

'I stood up and picked the person up around the middle of their chest so their back was against my chest.'

The firefighter then dragged Mrs Keane-Simmons from the house which was still on fire and paramedics treated her in the parking bay in the front of the house.

The two firefighters then went back into the house to put out the blaze on the ground floor.

Simmons has admitted manslaughter and disclosing private and sexual photographs with intent to cause distress. He denies murder, arson with intent to endanger life and voyeurism.

The trial was adjourned until Friday following the conclusion of the prosecution case.