Eileen Linda Lowe

Eileen Linda Lowe, 49, from Telford, Shropshire, was murdered on 5 August 2000 along with her two daughters: 16-year-old Lucy Lowe and her 17-year-old partially disabled daughter Sarah.

Lucy’s abuser, 26-year-old taxi driver Azhar Ali Mehmood, deliberately poured petrol through their family home in Leegomery and set it alight while they slept.

Mehmood, a Pakistani-origin man who had groomed and sexually exploited Lucy since she was around 12–14 (fathering her daughter Tasnim when Lucy was 14 and making her pregnant again at the time of the fire), acted out of jealousy and possessiveness after arguments; he rescued his baby daughter and left her safely under an apple tree before fleeing, while Lucy’s father George escaped through a window. 

In October 2001 at Stafford Crown Court, Mehmood was convicted of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder; he received four life sentences with a minimum term of 18 years.

The case later became linked to the wider Telford grooming scandal.

Rest in peace Linda. You will not be forgotten.