Sharaz ali handed whole-life order for quadruple house fire murder

He added: “No sentence I can pass can put right what the defendants have done. That is not possible.”

The sentence means Ali will spend the rest of his life in prison.

The court heard that Ali had travelled to the address with Calum Sunderland, 26, during the early hours of the morning. Sunderland forced entry to the property by kicking in the front door, enabling Ali to carry out the arson attack.

Jurors heard that petrol was used to ignite the fire inside the house.

Bryonie Gawith and her three children were unable to escape and later died from injuries sustained in the blaze.

Antonia Gawith escaped from the property but sustained serious trauma from the events of that night.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, she said the attack had “shattered” her life.

“What haunts me the most is the attack was meant for me,” she said.

“Petrol was poured on me, but the violence instead stole the life of my sister Bryonie, my nieces Denisty and Aubree Birtle, and my nephew Oscar.

“The memories of seeing their lifeless bodies from the fire is etched on my mind with a permanence I cannot escape.”

She added: “Every breath since has been a struggle to exist in a world that no longer feels safe or fair.”

The trial heard the attack followed the breakdown of an abusive relationship between Ali and Antonia Gawith, which had lasted around seven years.

Prosecutors said Ali had been “motivated by jealousy and fuelled by drink and drugs” when he set the property alight.

On his way to the address, the court was told, Ali sent a series of text messages to his former partner in which he insulted members of her family and accused her of being with another man.

During the trial, Ali claimed he intended to kill himself in front of Antonia Gawith and said he only meant to set himself on fire.

However, the jury rejected his account and convicted him in December of four counts of murder and the attempted murder of Antonia Gawith.

The court heard Ali sustained extensive burns during the fire and spent several months in a coma. He later appeared in court using a wheelchair and breathing tube.

Sunderland, who accompanied Ali to the house and forced entry, was convicted of manslaughter but cleared by the jury of murder.

Mr Justice Hilliard KC sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years before he can be considered for parole.

A third man, Mohammed Shabir, had been due to stand trial alongside the two defendants after allegedly driving them to the address, but he died from a heart attack while on remand before the case concluded.

In a statement read to the court, Bryonie Gawith’s sister Clare Gawith described the loss of her sister and the three children.

“She was my best friend and my right arm,” she said.

“Losing my sister, the person I thought I would grow old with, is a pain that follows me everywhere.

“When I finally drift off I wake up with nightmares.”

Amanda McInnes, a senior prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said the case demonstrated the devastating consequences of a violent act driven by jealousy.

“This was a devastating case in which a violent man’s jealousy led to the most unimaginable consequences,” she said.

“Sharaz Ali showed no regard for the lives he destroyed that night.

“Calum Sunderland willingly played his part in this tragedy and it is right that he too is held responsible for the consequences of his actions.”