A man arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene of a house fire that killed a mother and her three children has made a “marked improvement” and is now “expected to survive”, a court has heard.
Bryonie Gawith, 29, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle died following the blaze at their home in Westbury Road, Bradford, in the early hours of August 21 last year.
Bradford Crown Court previously heard that a third man arrested at the scene of the fire was “in a coma” and would not be ready for trial “even if he does wake up”.
An application to delay the trial of Shabir and Sunderland so the three men can stand trial together if the third suspect is charged was adjourned until next week.
On Monday, prosecutor Matthew Bean said it had been thought the man “was not expected to survive, or if he did, it was going to take a considerable amount of time for him to recover”.
