Mother and brother appear in court over teenager’s death in house fire

Leah Casson, 18, died in a fire at her flat in North Shields - (Northumbria Police)

The mother and brother of a teenager who was killed in a house fire have denied killing her and abstracting electricity in the run-up to the blaze.

Leah Casson, 18, died following the fire at her home in Vicarage Street, North Shields, North Tyneside, on 16 January 2023.

Her mother Danielle Johnson, 43, and brother Louis Casson, 19, of Holystone, North Tyneside, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court to deny manslaughter.

They appeared alongside Calvin Smith, 37, of North Shields, who also denied manslaughter.

Johnson and Smith also denied abstracting electricity from August and November 2022.

Danielle Johnson and Louis Casson, the mother and brother of Leah Casson who died in a blaze at her home in Vicarage Street, North Shields (PA)

All three defendants pleaded not guilty to abstracting electricity from November 2022 to January 2023, when the fatal fire happened.

Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, said a fourth defendant, Craig Watson, who was also charged in connection with the incident, had died in prison.

The three defendants were granted bail ahead of a four-week trial due to start on 5 October.

Northumbria Police initially treated the fire as arson, and at the time Ms Casson’s loved ones paid tribute, saying: “Leah was an outgoing, bubbly young woman who we loved so much and we can’t believe she has gone.

“Please let us grieve for her as a family and respect our privacy at this time.”