A drink and drug-fuelled thug who planned to ‘wipe out a whole family’ will never be released from prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend’s sister and her three children.
Sharaz Ali, 40, has been given a whole life order for murdering Bryonie Gawith and her children Denisty, nine, Oscar, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle by setting fire to their house in Bradford in August 2024.
The blaze was a revenge attack on Bryonie’s sister, Antonia Gawith, who had been staying with the family after she ended her seven-year relationship with Ali.
Antonia managed to escape the fire, but Bryonie, 29, sacrificed herself in a brave attempt to save her children who were trapped upstairs.
Ali was motivated by ‘revenge and sexual jealousy’ when he went to the property in the middle of the night with co-accused Calum Sunderland, stopping on their journey to fill a seven-litre canister with petrol.
On his way, Ali sent Antonia a series of aggressive messages accusing her of being with someone else.
The sisters were upstairs when Antonia heard a noise, went downstairs and saw Ali forcing his way into the house before pouring petrol on her and himself.
Doncaster Crown Court heard she ran outside, thinking Ali would follow her, but he stayed inside and attempted to make his way upstairs.
But Bryonie bravely barred his way, knowing he intended to ignite the home.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Hilliard told Ali: ‘There was no way she was going to go out of the house and leave her children. She stood at the top of the stairs, protecting them.
‘Bryonie acted with immense courage. I hope that will be how her family remembers her. She was determined to protect her family. That dominated her thoughts.’
The monster suffered significant burns himself and now requires a wheelchair and assistance to breathe.
The court heard that the ‘screams’ of a child who awoke to the flames could be heard on a 999 call. They were so distressing they were muted for the jury in the trial.
At Doncaster Crown Court today, Antonia said she was ‘haunted’ by the thought that she was the intended target of the attack.
She said Bryonie’s children were ‘my babies, my joy’ and that ‘knowing they died because someone wanted to kill me is a torment I can never put into words.’
‘What haunts me the most is the attack was meant for me,’ she added.
‘I was the target, petrol was poured on me and my life was meant to end that night.
‘I can’t escape the thought that I was spared when they were taken. How can I move on when they never had the chance to?’
Sobs could be heard from family in the public gallery as Antonia said Bryonie ‘had warmth that could fill a room and a heart so big she would give the world away if she could.’
She described being told that Bryonie and Denisty had died at the scene and Oscar and Aubree were pronounced dead at the hospital, saying: ‘I could only sit there broken as pieces of my heart were ripped away.’
The court heard Ali was determined to ‘obliterate’ the home and ‘wipe out a family’.
The three children were ‘acceptable collateral damage’ for Ali because he was ‘so full of hatred for Bryonie’ who he blamed for the break-up, it was said.
Sunderland, 27, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 18 years in prison for four counts of manslaughter. He was acquitted of murder.
He drove to the property with Ali but claimed his friend, to whom he regularly sold drugs, said he was only going to burn a car.
The jury at Ali’s trial was shown CCTV footage capturing the moment Sunderland purchased alcohol, soft drinks and petrol from a garage before the men drove to Bryonie’s house.
On arrival, Sunderland put on a glove, removed the blue petrol canister from the car and approached the house with a lighter.
He pulled up his hood to conceal his face and kicked the front door open before running off.
Ali then entered the house, emptied the petrol canister and set it alight.
Despite emergency services arriving within minutes, Bryonie was declared dead at the scene.
Her three children were taken to hospital with serious burn injuries and died shortly after.
Ali wanted to ‘inflict maximum pain’ with the horrifying fire and ‘did not care who was there’, the court was told.
Prosecutor David Brooke KC said Ali had previous convictions for kidnap, drug dealing, racially aggravated assault and assault.
He said Ali’s intention was to kill his ex girlfriend in a ‘painful and arguably sadistic’ way designed to cause untold mental and physical anguish.
Following the sentencing, Amanda McInnes, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire & Humberside, said: ‘This was a devastating case in which a violent man’s jealousy led to the most unimaginable consequences.
‘Sharaz Ali showed no regard for the lives he destroyed that night.
‘His former partner had made the courageous decision to leave an abusive relationship, and his response was to unleash a catastrophic act of revenge that killed four innocent people.
‘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.’
