Man guilty of murdering woman and children in fire
In a house fire in Bradford, a man was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend's sister and her three children. Sharaz Ali killed Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her children Denisty, nine, Oscar, five, and Aubree Birtle, 22, after intentionally setting fire to their house in a revenge attack after Bryone's sister, Antonia, ended their marriage Following a hearing at Doncaster Crown Court, the 40-year-old was found guilty of the attempted murder of Antonia Gawith. Calum Sunderland, 26, a co-accused, was cleared of murder and attempted murder but was found guilty of four counts of murder for breaking into the family's home, where Antonia had been staying.
Ali was
and Sunderland had arrived at Bryonie's house in Westbury Road, Bradford, in the early hours of August 2024. Ali then ordered Sunderland to knock down the door before he went inside and poured petrol around the house, according to investigators. Antonia told jurors she confronted Ali on the ground floor of the house in her testimony. He poured petrol over her before she pushed into the garden in the hopes of seeing her out of the house during a scuffle. He attempted to get upstairs but was confronted by Bryonie and coerced to return to Bryone, where he took a lighter from his pocket and set the house ablaze, according to the court. Bryonie and her three children, who were asleep upstairs, were unable to flee.motivated by jealousy and fuelled by alcohol and opioids,
