A man who killed his ex-partner's sister and her three children in a revenge arson attack on their Bradford home has been sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole. Sharaz Ali, 40, was convicted in December of four counts of murder and one of attempted murder after setting fire to the house on Westbury Road in the early hours of August 21 last year.
The victims were Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her three children: Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and Aubree Birtle, 22 months. Bryonie’s sister Antonia Gawith, who had recently ended a seven-year abusive relationship with Ali, was staying at the house and managed to escape but the others were trapped upstairs.
Imposing a whole life order at Doncaster Crown Court, Mr Justice Hilliard said Ali 'intended to torch the property and anyone in it'. He added: 'He knew that the children lived with their mother. He was so full of hatred for Bryonie and so determined that if he could not have a relationship with Antonia then no one else would, that these three children were to him acceptable collateral damage.'
The court heard that Ali had been physically abusive and controlling towards Antonia, blaming Bryonie for the break-up. Days before the fire, he sent threatening messages including: 'I know who caused all this... the house, the kids, the family, the friends are gonna feel it.' On the night, Ali and convicted arsonist Calum Sunderland, 26, were driven to the house by Mohammed Shabir, who died while on remand. Sunderland was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years for manslaughter.
Prosecutor David Brooke KC described the murders as 'particularly cruel', noting that Ali poured petrol on Antonia, showing 'an intention to kill through means that would have been excruciatingly painful'. During the trial, jurors heard audio of Antonia's 999 call, which included the sounds of a child screaming in the background.
