The British public is horrified at what appears to be a deliberately set house fire in West Yorkshire that killed a mother and all three of her children.
The victims are 29-year-old mom Bryonie Gawith; Destiny-mai, 9; Oscar, five, and Aubree, one-year-old. The fire occurred at about 2 am the morning of Thursday, August 22.
There are very few details yet, and no clue as to a possible motive that has been publicly released, but police on the scene arrested a 39-year-old man on suspicion of murder. He is in the hospital in critical condition, and police have not released his name or any further information.
Cops working the scene said mother Bryonie died in the fire, and the three children died later in the hospital.
Unsurprisingly, the investigation so far believes that the fire was deliberately set by the man in connection with what they are calling a “domestic-related” crime. While arsonists do sometimes randomly set fire to buildings, most murders, sadly, are committed by family members or associates. It remains to be seen what police will find as the investigation continues.
The scene of the fire is devastatingly sad, with plywood boarding up the windows and the remains of children’s toys are spread across the backyard. Sad neighbors have already begun leaving flowers at the scene in memory of the family.
Several left notes addressed to the family. One person left a note saying people were thinking of them and that they will be missed. Another addressed the child Destiny, calling her a “lovely, polite girl” who took good care of her younger brother Oscar. A note from Oscar’s teacher said his smile “lit up the classroom.”
Neighbors reported that they heard screams coming from the home about the time the fire started in the small hours. By the time people got to the house to see what was going on, it was fully engulfed with smoke and flames pouring out of the windows.
Stacy Atkinson, detective chief inspector, said police believe this was an incident of domestic violence. Police are asking anyone who witnessed anything, or who may have home security video showing the house or the street, to contact them.