Trial opens for men accused in Bradford family fire murders

A jury at Doncaster Crown Court heard opening arguments on Tuesday in the trial of two men accused of murdering a mother and her three young children in a deliberate house fire in Bradford last year. Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her children, nine-year-old Denisty Birtle, five-year-old Oscar Birtle, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle, died in the blaze at their home on Westbury Road in the early hours of August 21, 2023. The defendants, Sharaz Ali, 40, of no fixed address, and Calum Sunderland, 26, of Calton Street in Keighley, face charges of murder and the attempted murder of Antonia Gawith, Bryonie's sister, who escaped the fire.

Prosecutor David Brooke KC told the court that Ali, motivated by jealousy over his recent breakup with Antonia, orchestrated the attack while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The pair had been in a seven-year relationship marked by abuse linked to Ali's drinking, according to evidence presented. Bryonie had repeatedly urged her sister to end it, and Antonia finally decided to separate during a family holiday earlier that August after an argument sparked by one of Ali's drunken calls. She then stayed at Bryonie's home for a few days while Ali vacated...