Man accused of Bradford house fire murders denies he would 'kill four people for crack'
Calum Sunderland stopped answering questions for a second day in his trial, leaving the witness box and saying: "I'm not a murderer, I know I'm not a murderer."
A man who was allegedly recruited for a house fire murder plot has denied that he would "kill people for crack cocaine", saying: "I'd rather go rob a bank."
Calum Sunderland stopped answering questions for a second day in his trial, leaving the witness box and saying: "I'm not a murderer, I know I'm not a murderer."
Prosecutors say Sharaz Ali enlisted the help of convicted arsonist Sunderland for a revenge attack on his former partner Antonia Gawith, who was staying with her sister Bryonie Gawith after ending their relationship.
It is alleged Ali deliberately set fire to the house, killing Bryonie, 29, and her three children, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and Aubree Birtle, 22 months.
Doncaster Crown Court has heard that Sunderland, 26, is seen on Ring doorbell camera footage walking up to the house holding a petrol canister, kicking the door down when instructed by Ali, 40, and then running off.
The trial was adjourned early on Tuesday after Sunderland said he did not want to answer any more questions from prosecutor David Brooke KC, but he resumed cross examination on Wednesday, telling jurors he had not had his medication the day before.
Sunderland left the witness box after an hour, asking to be taken back to the dock after repeatedly saying he did not want to answer any more questions, but returned to continue being cross examined in the afternoon.
At one point in Mr Brooke's questioning, Sunderland said: "He's implied throughout the week that I killed people for crack. I'd rather go rob a bank.
"I don't get involved in people's domestics, it's nowt to do with me."
He told Mr Brooke: "You're drilling me more than you drilled him (Ali). At the end of the day I didn't set no fire, I didn't pour no petrol, it makes no sense."
On Monday Sunderland said he had been recruited by Ali to "burn a car" and would never have gone if he had known there were people in the house.
He told the court he was addicted to crack cocaine, used to break car windows for money, and was once paid £150 by a friend of Ali's to torch a car - an incident which resulted in him being convicted of arson.
On Monday Sunderland said he and Ali were "part of the drug world" and that he had bought drugs from Ali, and sold drugs for him.
Asked about the fact that he had called Ali a "bully" in one of his police interviews, Sunderland said he did not know if his co-defendant was dangerous, and could not remember seeing him bully anyone.
He told the court: "I knew he sold and I knew he drank, that's all I knew. I didn't know his personal life."
Asked by Mr Brooke if he "didn't really care as long as he got paid", Sunderland said: "If that was the case why didn't I just go and rob my mum's house. There's quicker ways to make money."
He said he could not remember Ali being on the phone to Antonia Gawith as they were driving to the house on Westbury Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, in the early hours of August 21 last year.
Doncaster Crown Court has heard that after Ali went into the house and started pouring petrol around inside, as well as on himself and Antonia, she ran outside in an attempt to lure him out.
Ali stayed in the house and used a lighter to start a "catastrophic" blaze which killed Bryonie Gawith and her three children, who were all upstairs.
Ali told the trial that he wanted to kill himself in front of Antonia, and only intended to set himself alight.
The court previously heard that Ali was rescued from the fire by police who had arrived at the scene first.
Ali, of no fixed address, and Sunderland, of Calton Street, Keighley, West Yorkshire, are charged with murdering Bryonie and the three children, and attempting to murder Antonia.
Mohammed Shabir, 45, who drove Ali and Sunderland to the house and had been due to go on trial with them, died of a heart attack while on remand.
Ali and Sunderland deny the charges and the trial continues.