Two men have denied murdering a mother and her three children who tragically lost their lives in a house fire in Bradford. Bryonie Gawith, 29; Denisty Birtle, nine; Oscar Birtle, five; and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle; died in the blaze at their home on Westbury Road on August 21. Mohammed Shabir, 44, of Alice Street, Keighley, and Calum Sunderland, 25, of Calton Street, Keighley, pleaded not guilty to the charges of murdering Ms Gawith and the three children, as well as attempting to murder Ms Gawith’s sister, Antonia Gawith.
The defendants appeared via video link from prison at Bradford Crown Court and entered their not guilty pleas. The trial is scheduled for March. The court heard that the main suspect, a man arrested at the scene, is currently unconscious in a hospital and may not be fit for trial even if he wakes up. West Yorkshire Police confirmed that the man in hospital is the ex-partner of a woman who was visiting the family.
Ms Gawith passed away at the scene, while the three children succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. Following the tragic incident, the family of the victims expressed deep sorrow at the loss of “our B” and the children, lovingly called “Chuch, Oggy and Strawberry”. The children’s father, Jonathan, also shared words of heartbreak, remembering Bryonie as a beautiful woman and a devoted mother to their children, whom he loved wholeheartedly and dearly.
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