Jealous ex murdered mum & 3 children in revenge blaze

A brutal petrol-fuelled revenge attack left a young mum & her three children dead as a jealous ex set their home ablaze in a shocking early-hours fire.

A man who killed a mother and her three young children by setting their Bradford home alight in the early hours has been convicted of murder. Sharaz Ali, 40, was today found guilty at Doncaster Crown Court of murdering Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her children Denisty, nine, Oscar, five, and 22-month-old Aubree in what prosecutors said was a jealous and calculated act of revenge against his former partner.

Ali, fuelled by drink and drugs, went to the house on Westbury Road shortly after 2am on 21 August last year intending to take “maximum pain” to his ex-partner Antonia Gawith, who had ended their abusive seven-year relationship. Antonia, who had been staying at her sister’s home with her nieces and nephew while Ali moved out of her own address, was the only adult to escape the blaze by jumping from a first-floor window.

Jurors heard that Ali travelled to the scene with Calum Sunderland, 26, and Mohammed Shabir, 45, stopping en route to fill a seven-litre container with petrol. CCTV and Ring doorbell footage captured Sunderland kicking in the door on Ali’s order before retreating to the car, while Ali entered the property carrying the can and a lighter.

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Antonia had finished work at Tesco at 12.30am and was upstairs with her sister when she heard a disturbance below. She told the court she saw an “angry” Ali run into the house and pour petrol on her as he shouted, before she tried to wrestle the items from him. She fled outside in an attempt to draw him away, but when she realised he had not followed, she returned and saw Bryonie kick Ali down the stairs. At that moment, Ali ignited the fuel. Flames immediately surged through the home, engulfing the hallway and staircase and trapping the young family upstairs.

Police officers forced their way inside and pulled Ali from the burning house. Prosecutor David Brooke KC told jurors Ali “did not care who was there” and must have known the children were inside. Firefighters found Bryonie collapsed on the bedroom floor and the three children unresponsive in their beds. Despite rapid emergency intervention, all four were pronounced dead.

Ali, who suffered severe burns and was placed in an induced coma for several months, told the jury he only meant to kill himself in front of Antonia. But the jury rejected his account, concluding he intended to kill or cause serious harm to those inside the home. Following his recovery, Ali had two fingers amputated from each hand and continues to require oxygen and assistance with speech.