Bradford Arson Horror: Man Convicted of Murdering Partner's Sister and Three Children in Jealousy-Fueled Revenge Attack
Doncaster Crown Court, December 10, 2025 – Sharaz Ali, a 40-year-old man from no fixed address, has been found guilty of four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder following one of the most devastating domestic violence cases in recent British history. The fire he deliberately started in a Bradford on 21 August 2024 killed Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her three children: nine-year-old Denisty Birtle, five-year-old Oscar Birtle, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle. Ali now faces a mandatory life sentence, with the judge expected to set a minimum term at a hearing in the coming weeks.
The trial at Doncaster Crown Court laid bare a chilling sequence of events driven by jealousy and revenge. Ali’s seven-year relationship with Antonia Gawith, Bryonie’s sister, had ended weeks earlier after years of physical and emotional abuse. Antonia had moved into Bryonie’s home on Westbury Road, Heaton, Bradford, for safety. Prosecutors told the court that Ali blamed Bryonie for encouraging Antonia to leave him and became obsessed with punishing both sisters.
In the days before the attack, Ali sent a series of threatening and abusive messages to Antonia, including references to “your whore sister” and cryptic warnings that he knew “who caused this in my life.” On the night of 20–21 August 2024, heavily intoxicated and having taken drugs, Ali recruited two men – Calum Sunderland, 26, and Mohammed Shabir, 45 – to drive him from Keighley to Bradford. They stopped at a petrol station to buy a seven-litre can of fuel, paying in cash.
Ring doorbell footage shown to the jury captured the moment Sunderland kicked in the front door shortly before 2am while Ali waited nearby holding the petrol can and a lighter. Ali then entered the house alone and began pouring petrol across the hallway, stairs and living room. Antonia, who had just returned from a late shift at Tesco, woke to the noise and confronted him on the stairs. She fought desperately to grab the lighter as petrol was poured over her, before running outside screaming for help in the hope he would follow. When he did not, she tried to get back inside.
By then Bryonie had woken and confronted Ali on the landing. She managed to kick him and wrestle the petrol container away, but Ali flicked the lighter. Flames erupted instantly, engulfing the staircase, Bryonie and Ali himself. The fire spread with terrifying speed. Antonia’s attempts to re-enter through the front and back doors failed; the rear door was jammed shut. Neighbours’ cameras recorded her collapsing in the street, screaming for emergency services as the house became fully ablaze.
Firefighters arrived within minutes of the 999 call at 2:01am, but the intensity of the blaze made immediate rescue impossible. When crews finally entered hours later, they found Bryonie and all three children in their beds, having died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Post-mortem examinations confirmed none had woken before succumbing.
Police officers dragged the badly burned Ali from the burning building and he was airlifted to hospital, where he was placed in an induced coma for several months. Upon regaining consciousness, he answered “no comment” to every question during police interviews. In court, his defence claimed the act had been a suicide attempt that “went wrong,” but the jury rejected this after less than two days of deliberation.
Calum Sunderland was acquitted of murder and attempted murder but convicted of four counts of manslaughter for his role in kicking in the door and helping purchase the petrol. Mohammed Shabir died of a heart attack in prison before the trial concluded.
Speaking after the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Washington of West Yorkshire Police described the case as illustrating the “catastrophic consequences” when coercive control escalates after separation. Victim support organisations reported increased helpline calls in the wake of the widely publicised case, with campaigners renewing calls for stronger protections for women leaving abusive partners and faster intervention when threats are reported.
Antonia Gawith paid tribute to her sister and the children, saying their loss had left “a void that can never be filled,” but expressed hope the conviction would serve as a warning to others in abusive relationships to seek help early and safely.
The rebuilt house on Westbury Road now bears murals of Bryonie and the three children, and the local community continues to hold annual vigils in their memory.
Ali will be sentenced in early 2026 and is expected to receive one of the longest minimum terms ever handed down for a domestic arson case.
