A man has denied murdering a mother and her three children in a house fire.
Bryonie Gawith, 29; Denisty Birtle, nine; Oscar Birtle, five; and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle died after the blaze at their home in Westbury Road, Bradford, in the early hours of August 21 last year.
Sharaz Ali, 39, of no fixed address, is charged with murdering the family, as well as attempting to murder Ms Gawith’s sister Antonia Gawith.
On Monday, he pleaded not guilty at Bradford Crown Court to all five charges, as well as a charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to Antonia Gawith.
Ali is one of three men due to go on trial accused of murdering Ms Gawith and her three children.
Mohammed Shabir, 44, of Alice Street, Keighley; and Calum Sunderland, 25, of Calton Street, Keighley pleaded not guilty to the charges in September last year.
Earlier hearings have been told that Ali had been in a coma since the fire and was not expected to be well enough to stand trial, even if he did wake up.
His prognosis was later revised and, following a “marked improvement” in his condition at the beginning of this year, Ali was charged with the offences in March after doctors found him fit to stand trial.
He appeared at his first court hearings via video link from his hospital bed, before being moved to prison.
The three defendants appeared together remotely from prison at Monday’s hearing, when prosecutor David Brooke KC said Ali “does appear to be fit”.
Their trial is expected to go ahead on November 17, the court heard.
