Two men to appear in court charged with murder of mother and children

Two men will appear at Bradford court charged with murder and attempted murder after a house fire which left a mother and her three children dead.

Bryonie Gawith, 29, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle died at their home in Westbury Road, Bradford, in the early hours of August 21.

West Yorkshire Police said Mohammed Shabir, 44, of Alice Street, Keighley, and Calum Sunderland, 25, of Calton Street, Keighley, have each been charged with four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

They will appear at Bradford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Police executed several warrants in the Keighley area of the city on Friday and four other people remain 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.

Amanda McInnes, of the Crown Prosecution Service for Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “Our thoughts remain with the friends and family of Bryonie and her children.

“We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendants are active and that they have a right to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

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

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.”