Murder suspect in Bradford house fire is in a coma and ‘may not recover’

A man arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene of a house fire that killed a mother and her three children is in a coma and “may not recover”, a court has heard.

Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her three children – Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle – died in the early hours of last Wednesday, after a fire at their home in Bradford.

On Thursday, Mohammed Shabir, 44, and Calum Sunderland, 25, both of Keighley, made their first appearance at a crown court.

The men are charged with murdering Gawith and the three children, and attempting to murder Antonia Gawith. The prosecutor Matthew Bean told Bradford crown court there was a third person who was “in a coma”.

Bean added: “He is, at the moment, very unwell and the expectation is that he may not recover. He may, but at the moment there is a degree of uncertainty.

“There is a possibility there will be two further defendants, perhaps three, on different offences but linked.”

Shabir and Sunderland appeared on a video link from prison. They were not asked to enter pleas to the charges.

The pair were remanded in custody until their next appearance at the same court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on 25 September.

Judge Jonathan Rose, the recorder of Bradford, set a provisional trial date of 4 March.

Bean said the trial was expected to last between eight and 10 days, but could be longer if there were other defendants or if the third suspect recovered.

West Yorkshire police said Sunderland was arrested after inquiries in the area of Keighley, north-west of Bradford, in the early hours of Monday. Shabir was arrested when he attended a police station after 10am on the same day.

Police said four other people remained under investigation, including a 39-year-old man who was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and remains in hospital in a critical condition.

Gawith died at the scene and the three children died from their injuries in hospital.

In a statement issued via the force last week, the family of the victims said the loss of “our B” and the children, had brought “unimaginable sadness and grief”.

Home Farm primary school, where the two oldest children Denisty and Oscar were pupils, said their mother was “always cheerful and positive” and they had been looking forward to Aubree joining them in the future.