A violent offender driven by alcohol and drugs, who intended to “eliminate an entire family,” has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murders of his ex-girlfriend’s sister and her three children.
Sharaz Ali, aged 40, received a whole life sentence at Doncaster Crown Court for the heinous act of murdering Bryonie Gawith and her children—Denisty, nine, Oscar, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle. The crime occurred when Ali set their Bradford home ablaze in August 2024.
The fire, intended as a failed act of vengeance, targeted Bryonie’s sister, Antonia Gawith. Antonia had sought refuge with the family following the end of her seven-year relationship with Ali.
While Antonia managed to flee the inferno, 29-year-old Bryonie and her children were trapped on the upper floor, unable to escape the deadly flames.
Driven by ‘revenge and sexual jealousy,’ Ali embarked on a nighttime mission to the house, stopping en route to fill a seven-litre petrol canister.
As he approached the property, he bombarded Antonia with a barrage of hostile messages, accusing her of infidelity, according to the jury.
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.
The court heard she ran outside, thinking Ali would follow her, but he stayed inside, using a lighter to start the fire that killed Bryonie and the children.
Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her three children, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and Aubree Birtle, 22 months, were murdered by Sharaz Ali in a Bradford house fire
Ali, 40, will never be released from prison for starting the fire that killed a mother and her three children in a ‘revenge’ attack
Antonia ran outside thinking Ali would follow her, but he stayed inside, using a lighter to start the fire.
The monster suffered significant burns himself and now requires a wheelchair and assistance to breathe.
At 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.’
Callum Sunderland, who drove Ali to the scene, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 18 years for manslaughter
The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, said Ali’s plan was to ‘wipe out a family’ and 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.
Ali’s co-accused, Calum Sunderland, 27, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 18 years in prison for manslaughter.
He drove Ali to the property but claimed his friend, to whom he regularly sold drugs, said he was only going to burn a car.
Ali wanted to ‘inflict maximum pain’ with the horrifying fire and ‘did not care who was there’, the court was told.
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.’
This is a breaking news story.
