Detectives are investigating whether a suspected arson attack that killed a woman and her three young children was triggered by a dispute involving another family member.
Bryonie Gawith, 29, died along with her two daughters, 22-month-old Aubree and nine-year-old Denisty, and her five-year-old son, Oscar, after a fire at their Bradford home at about 2am on Wednesday.
West Yorkshire police said initial inquiries suggested the blaze was started deliberately and was “domestic-related”.
A 39-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and taken to hospital, where he is in a critical condition.
Detectives believe Gawith and her children may have been innocently caught up in a dispute involving another family member, which resulted in the alleged arson attack.
One of the main lines of inquiry for police is that this other family member went to Gawith’s home and was followed by a man who then set fire to the property.
Neighbours have described how they heard screaming and shouting from the direction of the house on Westbury Road shortly before the blaze “lit up the sky”.
Gawith is estranged from her former partner, Jonathan Birtle, who is the father of all three children who died.
Birtle, 34, is on remand in custody after being charged with strangling the mother-of-three and stealing her phone at her home on 27 July. However, Birtle is not being treated as a suspect in the house fire and detectives are understood to believe he is not involved in any way.
The scaffolder indicated that he would plead not guilty to the offences when he appeared at Bradford crown court on 30 July. He is next due to appear in court on Tuesday.
Tearful family members left flowers and teddy bears at one end of the police cordon on Wednesday afternoon.
One bouquet read: “Have fun in heaven. We will miss you.” Another said: “RIP to my beautiful auntie and baby cousins. I love you all, all this world and more. I will forever miss you my beautiful angels.”
A third set of flowers read: “I can’t put into words how heartbroken I am! My best friend, my sister! I will never forget how much love, laughter, happiness you brought to my life. My three beautiful babies will never forget you.”
Neighbours described how they rushed into the street when they were woken by the “intense” smell of smoke and sound of sirens.
Lindsay Pearson, 56, said her daughter had heard shouting coming from the direction of the property at about 1.45am, shortly before they saw “a big flame – like the sky was all lit up”. She added: “It was like thunder and lightning, like you see in a thunderstorm.”
Supt Lucy Leadbeater of West Yorkshire police said: “This is an absolutely devastating incident in which three children and a woman have lost their lives. Our thoughts remain with their family, friends and loved ones.
“Early inquiries show that the fire was started deliberately, and we have arrested one man on suspicion of murder. He is seriously ill in hospital today as a result of injuries caused by the fire.
“While our inquiries are at an early stage, we do at this time believe the incident is domestic related.
“We are appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident or who has CCTV or doorbell footage to come forward.”
