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A MAN who took the life of his former partner’s sister and her three children by igniting their home in a failed revenge attack has been convicted of murder.
Sharaz Ali was driven by jealousy and under the influence of alcohol and drugs when he initiated the “catastrophic” fire at the residence of Bryonie Gawith and her three young children in the early hours of August 21 last year.
Two men have gone on trial charged with murderCredit: Facebook
Bryonie Gawith and her three children were killed in a house fireCredit: SWNS
A court heard that Ali, 40, sought “revenge” on his former partner, Antonia Gawith, who was staying at the home following the end of their abusive seven-year relationship.
While Antonia managed to escape the blaze, Bryonie, 29, and her three children, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and Aubree Birtle, 22 months, were trapped upstairs and could not be rescued.
On Wednesday, Ali was found guilty of murdering Bryonie and the three children, as well as attempting to murder Antonia.
Calum Sunderland, 26, who accompanied Ali to the house and forced the door open for him, was convicted of the manslaughter of Bryonie and the three children but acquitted of the more serious charge of murder.
He was also found not guilty of attempted murder and an alternative charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to Antonia Gawith.
Ali appeared via video link from prison and seemed to wipe away tears before the jury entered the courtroom.
Doncaster Crown Court heard that Ali wanted to “inflict maximum pain” with the fire and “did not care who was present,” although prosecutors argued that he must have known the children were at home.
Antonia informed police that Bryonie had provided her with the “confidence and support” to leave her violent and controlling relationship with Ali just weeks before the fire, and that Ali had blamed her sister for the breakup.
On the night of the tragic fire, Ali and convicted arsonist Sunderland, who occasionally sold drugs for Ali, were driven to the house on Westbury Road, Bradford, by Mohammed Shabir, who was supposed to stand trial with them but passed away from a heart attack while in custody.
Jurors learned that they stopped en route to fill a seven-liter canister with petrol, and Ali sent Antonia a series of aggressive messages accusing her of being with someone else.
When they arrived, Antonia, who had just finished her shift at Tesco at 12:30 AM, was in the main bedroom upstairs with Bryonie.
Doorbell footage captured Ali instructing Sunderland, who was holding the petrol and a lighter, to “kick the door in,” which he did before retreating to the car.
Antonia recounted going downstairs after hearing a noise and witnessing an “angry” Ali run into the house and begin pouring petrol on her while shouting.
She described her struggle to wrest the canister and lighter from him before fleeing outside in an attempt to lure him out of the house.
As she realized he had not followed her, Antonia returned toward the house and saw Bryonie, who had woken up, kick Ali down the stairs.
Antonia stated that Ali then ignited the lighter, igniting the petrol and setting himself and the house ablaze.
In a video interview presented to jurors, Antonia wept as she explained to police how she “couldn’t save” her sister, nieces, and nephew.
She described her frantic attempts to enter through the back door, which was jammed shut, while screaming for assistance.
Antonia mentioned that Bryonie, who had called 999 while descending the stairs, threw her phone out of the window.
She told officers that she picked it up and began “shouting down the phone, telling them to send everyone – the police, ambulance, fire brigade.”
“I was just screaming, trying to get back in the house, and I couldn’t get in. I couldn’t save them,” she said tearfully.
The court heard that the first police officers on the scene managed to break down the door and pull Ali from the flames, but when firefighters arrived, it was too late to save Bryonie, who was found on the floor next to her bed, and the three children, who were discovered in their beds.
Footage shown during the trial was edited to mute screams, which may have belonged to one of the children.
Prosecutor David Brooke KC stated that one of them might have been awakened by the noise and “frightened by the sound of the explosion.”
The court learned that Ali refused treatment from paramedics at the scene and was placed into an induced coma for several months before beginning his recovery.
Jurors were informed that following the incident, two fingers on each of his hands were amputated, and he continues to use oxygen and has difficulty speaking.
He testified during the trial that he wanted to take his own life in front of Antonia and only intended to set himself on fire.
Sunderland claimed that Ali had enlisted him to set a car ablaze and that he was
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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