Two men appear in court charged with murdering mum and her three children, 1, 5 and 9, in Bradford house fire
TWO men have appeared in court charged with murdering a mum and her three children in a house fire.
Bryonie Gawith, 29, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle were all killed in the horror.
Police believe the home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was deliberately set alight.
Mohammed Shabir, 44, and Calum Sunderland, 25, appeared at Bradford Magistrates’ Court today charged with four counts of murder.
The pair, who are also accused of one count of attempted murder, spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.
They were remanded into custody to next appear at Bradford Crown Court tomorrow.
The horror unfolded last Wednesday when flames engulfed the home in the early hours.
Bryonie’s ex-partner, 39, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and remains in a critical condition in hospital.
A 36-year-old man also arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder has been released on conditional bail.
Two other people – a 54-year-old woman and 42-year-old man – were held on suspicion of assisting an offender but were released on bail.
Specialist officers are supporting the family, including the children’s dad Jonathan.
In a moving tribute, he said he was “absolutely distraught at the sudden loss of my fiancée, Bryonie and our three beautiful children”.
Jonathan added: “Bryonie and I were together for a long time, and we had a good life together.
“She was a beautiful woman and a loving mother to Oscar, Aubree and Denisty.
“I loved them with all my heart and if I had the chance, I would take their place in a heartbeat. I cannot imagine life without them.
“They will never be forgotten and will always be in my heart.”
Bryonie’s family also paid tribute to “our B” and the three children, referred to as “Chuch, Oggy and Strawberry”.
The tribute read: “Our B was the life and soul of the party, music was a big part of her life, she loved music, singing and dancing, she would always be singing and dancing with Chuch (Denisty), Oggy (Oscar) and Strawberry (Aubree).
“B was always a really happy, joyful, bubbly beautiful woman, who cared for everyone and was loved by everyone, her kids were everything to her, her whole life.
“Oggy had the cheekiest smile, he was cheeky but he was a shy boy, Strawbs was shy and bashful with big blue eyes and blonde hair and Chuch was a beautiful, confident, outgoing and creative young girl.
“We are still trying to comprehend what has happened to our beautiful family.
“No words can describe how we are feeling and no words could ever make up for the profound loss we are now faced with.”