Daniel Bartlam, 15, Detained For Killing Mother With Hammer In Coronation Street-Inspired Attack (PHOTOS)

PHOTOS: Teenager Detained For 16 Years After Killing Mum With Hammer

A 15-year-old boy has been detained for 16 years for killing his mother with a hammer after being inspired by a plot from Coronation Street.

Daniel Bartlam killed his mother Jacqueline in a hammer attack at their home before burning her body.

Today the judge at Nottingham Crown Court lifted reporting restrictions allowing the media to name the teenager.

The court heard how Bartlam, who was 14 at the time of the attack, hit his mother seven times with a claw hammer at their home in Georgia Drive, Redhill, Nottingham.

He then poured petrol around her bedroom before lighting newspaper on a gas fire and setting the property alight.

Jacqueline Bartlam could be identified only by dental records, after her body was recovered from the blaze on 25 April last year.

PHOTOS: Police Released Pictures Of The Murder Weapon And Scene After The Trial

The court heard how Bartlam had been inspired to carry out the killing by a plot in Coronation Street, where one of the characters John Stape, had killed a woman with a hammer.

Bartlam had claimed the killing was not murder because he had lost self-control.

But in February this year a jury unanimously found the teenager guilty of his mother's murder.

Sentencing him to life imprisonment at Nottingham Crown Court, Mr Justice Julian Flaux told the teenager he must serve a minimum of 16 years and described the killing as "grotesque" and "senseless".

The judge said it seemed like the teenager wanted to "get away with the perfect murder".

Following the sentencing, DCI Kate Meynall, senior investigating officer who led the investigation, called it a "shocking" and "chilling" case.

She said: "The circumstances of this crime are shocking and difficult to comprehend.

"We know that Daniel spent time planning to kill his mum, and then executed his plan overnight.

"He then attempted to conceal evidence and cover his tracks by making up a story that his mum had been attacked by an intruder. His account did not correlate with other witness accounts so Daniel was arrested. From his computer, we recovered a deleted story about a character called Daniel Bartlam who killed his mother in the exact same circumstances in which Jacqueline was killed.

"I have personally never dealt with something like this, and as a police officer this was an extremely shocking case, but the biggest impact has of course been on Jacqueline's family.

She added: "Maybe one day Daniel will tell the truth, as there are several gaps that only he can fill."

In a statement released on behalf of the family, Jacqueline Bartlam's parents said their daughter had loved her family and would have done anything for them.

They said: "Jacqui was a wonderful, loving and caring woman. She was warm with a great sense of humour and would always be there to help if anyone was in trouble.

"We are a very close family, and it is hard to know how to deal with something like this. Twelve years ago we lost the youngest of our daughters and our eldest grandson in a car crash and to have to go through this twice hurts more than words can say.

"We find it so hard to explain what we are going through. There are no winners here because not only have we lost Jacqui, but we have lost Daniel too because of what he's done. We know it was the right result at court but trying to understand how a boy you have loved for 14 years can do something like this is so difficult."

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