Sharaz Ali given whole life term for murdering Bryonie Gawith and her three young children in a house fire in Bradford, meaning he will never be released from prison
Bryonie, 29, Denisty, nine, Oscar, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle all died in the blaze on 21 August 2024
Prosecutors said Ali was motivated by revenge after Bryonie's sister Antonia ended their relationship
"What haunts me the most is the attack was meant for me" - Antonia Gawith tells court
David Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
Mr Justice Hilliard KC is now summarising the case.
He says the four lives lost that night were "precious beyond measure".
"No sentence I can pass can put right what the defendants have done," he adds. "That is not possible."
David Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
Noting his client knows he is facing a long term in prison, Worsley reads out a letter of apology Sunderland sent to the Gawith family.
"There is nothing I can say to bring them back, nothing I can say or do to stop the pain or hurt you're all feeling," the letter says.
"Kicking that door down will forever be the biggest mistake of my life."
David Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
Representing Calum Sunderland, who was convicted of four counts of manslaughter, Nicholas Worsley KC repeats his client's position during the trial that he believed he had been recruited by Ali on the night in question to burn a car.
When he realised Ali's true intentions, Worsley says Sunderland turned to Ali and said: "Are you mad?"
Image source, West Yorkshire PoliceDescribing Sunderland as "ashamed and embarrassed", the barrister says that during an interview for his pre-sentence report Sunderland told a probation officer he would "never in a million years" have gone to Westbury Road had he known what Ali wanted.
The court hears Sunderland suffered trauma and abandonment during his childhood, which it is said contributed to the drug addiction which afflicted him from an early age.
David Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
Mohammed Nawaz KC, representing Ali, is now on his feet.
He says the defendant's mindset at the time of the offence, as well as in the days beforehand, was "chaotic and irrational" and that he had consumed large quantities of alcohol and cocaine before the attack.
He says there is "no evidence" Ali deliberately targeted the three children, saying that he had been "affectionate" towards them and enjoyed a "good relationship with them".
The court is told Ali suffered 59% burns in the incident, is wheelchair-bound and has respiratory problems.
Nawaz says his client has repeatedly expressed "remorse" for the events of that night in August 2024.
Image source, West Yorkshire PoliceDavid Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
A statement read on behalf of Bryonie's mother, Rachel, talks of her daughter's "bubbly personality".
"I miss them all so much," she says. "They say time is a healer, but it's not. I will suffer for the rest of my life. I hope we get the justice we deserve."
As the statements are read, Sunderland and Ali sit in the dock with their heads down.
Prosecutor David Brooke tells the court he wants to pay a personal tribute to the Gawith family for their "patience, courage and endurance" during the court case, which experienced several delays.
David Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
Bryonie's older sister, Clare Gawith, is now reading her victim impact statement.
Similarly emotional, she describes Bryonie as "my best friend and my right arm".
"Losing my sister, the person I thought I would grow old with, is a pain that follows me everywhere," she says.
She tells the court the impact of losing her nieces, nephew and her sister, as well as seeing Antonia suffer with the aftermath is "something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life".
Outlining her struggles to sleep since the attack, she says: "When I finally drift off I wake up with nightmares."
After she finished reading, the judge praised both sisters for the way they have spoken.
Image source, Family HandoutDavid Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
Bryonie's sister Antonia Gawith has come forward to read her victim impact statement to the court in person.
She says the fire "shattered my entire existence" and that the events of the night have left a "psychological wound that will never heal".
"What haunts me the most is the attack was meant for me," she adds.
"Petrol was poured on me [but] the violence instead stole the life of my sister, Bryonie, my nieces, Denisty and Aubree Birtle, and my nephew, Oscar.
"The memories of seeing their lifeless bodies from the fire is etched on my mind with a permanence I cannot escape.
"Every breath since has been a struggle to exist in a world that no longer feels safe or fair."
As she speaks, family members in the public gallery can be heard sobbing.
David Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
Sharaz Ali appears to be looking downwards into his lap, emotionless, as Brooke tells the court how the defendant tried to kill Antonia Gawith in an "excruciatingly painful" way.
The prosecutor has also been outlining details of the 999 call made after the fire broke out, explaining how parts of the call were "muted" during the trial for the jury's benefit due to their distressing nature.
David Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
Prosecutors say Ali has a number of previous convictions.
Amongst them are offences of aggravated assault in 2011, a kidnap in 2015, for which he received a two-year prison sentence, and multiple drug offences.
David Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
David Brooke KC tells the judge the prosecution believe there was a "substantial degree of pre-meditation or planning," to the attack.
He says texts sent by Ali to his ex-partner Antonia Gawith indicate this.
David Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
Sharaz Ali and Calum Sunderland have both been brought into the dock by security officers.
Ali, whose face has visible burns injuries, is sat with a tube around his nose.
Sunderland is wearing a blue t-shirt and is sporting a beard.
The judge who will pass sentence today is His Honour Mr Justice Nicholas Hilliard KC, who also presided over the trial before Christmas.
Mr Justice Hilliard, who became a High Court Judge in 2019, also presided over the sentencing of Piran Ditta Khan, who in 2024 was given a life sentence for the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky during a robbery in Bradford 19 years earlier.
David Brooke KC will appear for the prosecution, with Mohammed Nawaz KC representing Sharaz Ali.Calum Sunderland is represented by Nicholas Worsley KC.
David Spereall
at Doncaster Crown Court
The sentencing of Sharaz Ali and Calum Sunderland for killing Bryonie Gawith and her three children is about to start.
Courtroom Two at Doncaster Crown Court is packed, with more than a dozen family members seated in the public gallery.
There are around 10 journalists too, with some having to sit in the box normally reserved for jurors due to a lack of space within the courtroom.
It is expected the hearing could last for around three hours.
Speaking after Ali and Sunderland were found guilty, Bryonie's sister, Antonia Gawith, said: "Even with justice, nothing will ever make this right.
"Our beautiful B was the glue that held us all together. She was the best daughter, sister, aunty and most of all the most devoted mother to her three children.
"They were her world and she lived every day to love and protect them. The children will never grow up, never experience life in all the ways they deserve."
Emma Glasbey
Home and Social Affairs Correspondent, BBC Yorkshire
The hearing is taking place at Doncaster Crown Court, rather than in Bradford, because of Sharaz Ali’s medical needs.
Ali suffered burns on 70% of his body in the fire he started in August 2024 and gave evidence at his trial from a wheelchair with a medical tube in his nose.
His coughing fits often interrupted the evidence at Doncaster Crown Court and Ali, who is 40 years old, needed regular breaks.
The public gallery was full for much of the trial last year with several members of the Gawith family listening to the harrowing and distressing evidence about the murders of Bryonie and her children.
Today, the courtroom is expected to be filled with family members once again and members of the press waiting to hear the sentences handed down to Ali and the man who helped him carry out the attack that night, Calum Sunderland.
The trial heard how Ali texted his ex-partner Antonia Gawith with the words, "I want to kill someone," five days before the tragedy unfolded.
The day before, he had messaged her to say: "I know who caused all this in my life, whether they meant to or not.
"They better start praying because now I'm getting involved in her life and I promise one thing they are going to regret it.
"House and children. Deep down you know who I mean."
Giving evidence in court, Ali had claimed this was an "empty threat" and denied he was referring to Antonia's sister Bryonie.
Less than a week later, he had killed Bryonie and her three children.
A third man said to have been involved in the attack, Mohammed Shabir, 45, who allegedly drove Sunderland and Ali to the house, had also been due to go on trial but died of a heart attack while on remand last September.
Image source, West Yorkshire PoliceCalum Sunderland, who sometimes sold drugs for Sharaz Ali, was acquitted of four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, but convicted of four counts of manslaughter.
During the trial Sunderland, 27, told the jury he had thought he was going to "burn a car" for money on Ali's behalf, but refused to answer questions under cross-examination during the trial.
Image source, West Yorkshire PoliceDuring his trial prosecutors said Sharaz Ali wanted to "inflict maximum pain" on his former partner Antonia Gawith, who was Bryonie's sister and auntie to Bryonie's three young children.
The prosecution said that jealous and threatening texts he sent Antonia in the days before the blaze showed his "anger, resentment, self-pity and drunkenness".
Image source, Family handoutFollowing the tragedy, in August 2024, Bryonie Gawith was described by her family as a "happy, joyful, bubbly beautiful woman", who "cared for everyone and was loved by everyone".
Her five-year-old son Oscar was said to be "cheeky" and "shy", while his older sister Denisty was described by the family as "beautiful, outgoing and creative". Aubree Birtle, who was just 22 months old when she died was, according to the tribute, "bashful with big blue eyes and blonde hair".