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Sharaz Ali, 40, now a convicted quadruple murderer, went to the home on Westbury Road, Bradford, on the 21st of August last year, with an aim to enact violent retribution on his former partner, Antonia Gawith, but instead left a trail of devastating collateral damage. Following the end of what prosecutors described in court as a seven-year "abusive" and "controlling" relationship, Ali—identified in court as being of no fixed address—was driven by blinding jealousy and the destructive influence of drink and drugs.
The search for specific details regarding Sharaz Ali's country of origin or precise ethnic identity beyond his surname, which is common in South Asia and the Middle East, did not yield a definitive, cited source linked directly to the murder trial records. However, court proceedings confirmed his age as 40 and his last known address as "no fixed address." He was pulled from the burning house by police, having sustained 70% burns—injuries so severe that he was not initially expected to survive. The court heard he had even refused treatment, stating he wanted to kill himself, before being forcibly medicated and placed in an induced coma. He appeared for trial, charged with murder, in a wheelchair, speaking with visible difficulty and dabbing his eyes, having been moved from hospital to prison after a "marked improvement" in his condition.
A Mother and Three Children Lost
The target, Antonia Gawith, managed to escape the inferno, but her sister, 29-year-old Bryonie Gawith, and her three young children—Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle—perished in the blaze. This horrific human cost was the unintended, yet entirely predictable, consequence of Ali’s vengeful plot.
The trial at Doncaster Crown Court painted a picture of premeditation and violence. Ali, alongside his associate, convicted arsonist Calum Sunderland, 26, was driven to the house by Mohammed Shabir, 45, who later died of a heart attack in prison before facing trial. On the way, the three men stopped to fill a seven-litre canister with petrol. Doorbell camera footage captured Ali instructing Sunderland, who was carrying the petrol and a lighter, to "kick the door in," a command Sunderland carried out before fleeing.
"I Couldn't Save Them"
Antonia Gawith recounted her terrifying ordeal, describing how she saw an "angry" Ali run into the house, pour petrol on her while shouting, and then set the fire. She managed to escape, but the image of her frantic, yet ultimately futile, attempts to re-enter the house to save her family is an enduring testament to the night's horror. In a video interview played for the jurors, she sobbed: "I was just screaming, trying to get back in the house and I couldn't get in. I couldn't save them."
After hearing the harrowing details, the jury found Ali guilty of four counts of murder and the attempted murder of Antonia Gawith. His claim that he only intended to harm himself was rejected. Co-accused Calum Sunderland was cleared of murder but convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter for the four deaths, having been instrumental in forcing entry and carrying the flammable materials. The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, praised the "extraordinary bravery" of those who tried to rescue the trapped family, acknowledging the case as "distressing beyond measure."
Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson of West Yorkshire Police emphasised that Bryonie and her children would still be alive "if it wasn't for the horrific and truly callous actions of Ali and Sunderland." Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Amanda McInnes described Ali as a "selfish killer who had no regard for anyone but himself," motivated purely by a destructive jealousy. The verdict closes the chapter on the trial, but the family now faces a lifetime without a mother, three children, a sister, and a nephew.
