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A WOMAN broke down in tears as she shared her anguish over being unable to save her sister and three children from a house fire allegedly set by her ex-partner, a court heard.
Bryonie Gawith, 29, along with Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle, all perished in the blaze in Bradford.
Bryonie Gawith died alongside her niece Denisty, nephew Oscar, and niece Aubree
The fire was reportedly started by Bryonie’s sister’s ex-partnerCredit: SWNS
Her sister, Antonia Gawith, was able to escape the fire, which was allegedly ignited by her ex-partner, Sharaz Ali, as an act of “revenge.”
She broke down in tears while recounting her desperate attempts to get help for her sister and her children as the house was engulfed in flames.
The Doncaster Crown Court learned that Antonia had gone downstairs when the Ring doorbell alerted her on August 21 of last year.
She stated that Ali and a second man kicked in the front door, but her ex’s accomplice fled the scene.
Antonia recounted, “(Ali) started pouring petrol on me. I pleaded, ‘please don’t, I love you, I’ll come back, don’t do this.’”
She described “begging” and saying anything to Ali, who appeared angry and was shouting.
Antonia added, “He just seemed so different … he didn’t seem like himself at all, it was just madness.”
She attempted to wrest the petrol and lighter from Ali's grip before fleeing the house, believing he would pursue her.
However, Antonia continued, “I was screaming for help, but he didn’t follow me. I ran back inside, and as I did, my sister’s kicked him down the stairs, and I tried to get him out.”
“I pulled the petrol off him and tried to get him out, and then he ignited the lighter.”
“I saw him catch fire, along with the stairs, and my sister.”
Antonia noted that the front door then swung shut, and when she managed to open it, there was “fire everywhere.”
She expressed fear about re-entering the house, as she was still covered in petrol and might catch fire herself.
Instead, she ran to the back door, which was jammed, and began kicking it while “screaming and shouting” for her sister to escape.
She mentioned that Bryonie, who had called 999 while coming down the stairs, threw her phone out of the window.
Antonia told the officers that she picked it up and began “shouting down the phone, urging them to send everyone – the police, ambulance, fire brigade.”
Breaking down, she added, “I was just screaming, trying to get back into the house, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t save them.”
Police arrived and forced open the door, pulling Ali out, but by the time the fire brigade arrived, it was too late to save Bryonie and the children.
Tragically, all three children were found dead in their beds after quickly becoming “rendered unconscious” from the fumes.
Antonia informed the police that she desperately wanted to go upstairs but was blocked by emergency crews due to being covered in petrol.
She continued, “They said it wasn’t safe. I was just begging and crying, wanting to save them, but I couldn’t do anything.
“They wouldn’t let me go up – I just wanted to be with her. I was covered in petrol, so they were trying to keep me back.”
Ali, 40, is currently on trial, facing murder charges alongside Calum Sunderland, 26.
Jurors heard that the duo was captured on doorbell camera approaching the home in the early hours of August 21, with Sunderland carrying a petrol can containing seven liters of fuel and a lighter.
Sunderland and driver Mohammed Amjid Shabir, who was supposed to stand trial but has since passed away, fled the scene, it was reported.
David Brooke KC, prosecuting, stated that Ali was clearly the “main instigator” and had been “motivated by jealousy and fueled by alcohol.”
Jurors heard that he wanted to “take revenge on his ex-partner Antonia, regardless of the possible consequences for others.”
Mr. Brooke added, “The prosecution argues that when you examine his actions, there is only one logical conclusion.”
“He intended to kill at least Antonia Gawith by setting fire to the house.”
He continued, “Tragically, he killed her sister and three small children, and, as you will hear, there is some evidence to suggest that he was deliberately targeting Antonia’s family.”
The court learned that Antonia and Ali had been involved in an abusive relationship that was “exacerbated by his drinking” for about seven years.
Bryonie had encouraged her sister to leave him on multiple occasions, and the “opportunity finally arose” in August 2024 when the sisters were on a family holiday in Majorca.
