3 months ago
16
West Yorkshire Police
Sharaz Ali was convicted of four counts of murder and one of attempted murder
A man has been found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend's sister and her three children in a house fire in Bradford.
Sharaz Ali killed Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her children Denisty, nine, Oscar, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle, after deliberately setting fire to their home in a revenge attack when Bryonie's sister, Antonia, ended their relationship.
The 40-year-old was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Antonia Gawith, following a trial at Doncaster Crown Court.
Co-accused Calum Sunderland, 26, was cleared of murder and attempted murder but found guilty of four counts of manslaughter for his role in breaking into the family's house where Antonia had been staying.
West Yorkshire Police
Calum Sunderland was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter
The trial heard Ali "motivated by jealousy and fuelled by drink and drugs" and Sunderland had arrived at Bryonie's home in Westbury Road, Bradford, in the early hours of 21 August 2024.
Prosecutors said Ali then ordered Sunderland to kick down the door before he went inside and poured petrol around the property.
In her evidence, Antonia told jurors she had confronted Ali on the ground floor of the property.
During a scuffle he poured petrol over her before she managed to run into the garden in the hope he would follow her out of the house.
The court heard he tried to get upstairs but was confronted by Bryonie and forced back down where he took a lighter from his pocket and set the house alight.
Bryonie and her three children, who were asleep upstairs, were unable to escape.
