A man who set fire to a house killing a woman and her three children aged nine, five and 22 months has been found guilty of murder.
Sharaz Ali, 40, was motivated by jealousy and fuelled by drugs and alcohol when he set fire to the house in Bradford at 2am on 21 August last year, a jury heard.
The prosecution said he intended to “take revenge” after his former partner, Antonia Gawith, ended an “abusive” seven-year relationship. Ali was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Antonia Gawith.
Gawith was staying at the home of her sister Bryonie Gawith. Bryonie, 29, and her children, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle were trapped upstairs and died in the fire.
Doncaster crown court heard Ali wanted to “inflict maximum pain” with the fire and “did not care who was there”, although prosecutors said he must have known the children were at home.
The court heard that the two sisters were living at Bryonie’s home after both had split from their partners.
In a video interview with police played in court, Antonia said Ali was controlling and violent and that her sister was the one person she could talk to after losing many of her friends.
“He used to go out on benders and get drunk and not come home, I was scared to leave him,” she said. “I was just so scared of him. I don’t know why I stayed with him. He promised me he’d stop drinking and wouldn’t take drugs but he was coming back most days drunk and on drugs.”
She said Bryonie gave her the strength to end the relationship when the two sisters were on holiday, weeks before the fire.
The court heard Ali blamed Bryonie for the break-up. In one threatening message to Antonia, Ali said: “I know who has caused this in my life … Better start praying cos now I’m going to get involved in her life and everyone is going to feel it. I promise you one thing, they’re going to regret it.”
The court heard that on the night of the fire, Antonia finished her shift at Tesco at 12.30am and was in the main bedroom where both sisters had been sleeping. Antonia heard a noise, went downstairs and saw Ali forcing his way into the house before pouring petrol around inside, as well as on her and himself.
The court heard she ran outside, thinking Ali would follow her, but he stayed inside, using a lighter to start the fire that killed Bryonie and the children. Antonia described her frantic efforts to get back in the house through the back door while screaming for help for her sister, nieces and nephew.
The court heard that police officers arrived and broke through the door, pulling Ali out, but that by the time the fire brigade arrived it was too late to save Bryonie and the children.
Antonia tearfully described trying to get upstairs to them, but being kept away as she was still covered in petrol. “They said it wasn’t safe. I was just begging them all and screaming and crying, and I just wanted to save them and I just couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything.
“They wouldn’t let me go up – I just wanted to be with her.”
The jury heard that Ali’s co-accused, Calum Sunderland, 26, kicked the door of the house in after being told to do so. He was cleared of murder but found guilty of four counts of manslaughter.
Sunderland was also cleared of attempted murder, and an alternative count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, in relation to Antonia.
The court heard that Ali refused treatment from paramedics at the scene and was put into an induced coma for months before his recovery began.
After jurors returned their verdicts, the judge Mr Justice Hilliard thanked them and said the case had been “distressing beyond measure”. He said: “I don’t think anyone who heard Antonia’s desperate cries for help will ever forget them.”
In a statement issued by Bryonie’s family, they said the loss of “our B” and the children had brought “unimaginable sadness and grief”.
The tribute read: “Our B was the life and soul of the party, music was a big part of her life, she loved music, singing and dancing, she would always be singing and dancing with Chuch [Denisty], Oggy [Oscar] and Strawberry [Aubree].”
Speaking after the verdicts, Det Ch Insp Stacey Atkinson, the senior investigating officer, described the actions of Ali and Sunderland as “horrific and truly callous”. She added: “They left a mum and her three children completely helpless whilst her sister and their auntie watched on in horror.”
Police also released footage of Sunderland kicking in the door, told to do so by Ali, who can be seen holding a bottle of vodka.
Both men had denied murder. They will be sentenced at a later date.
