Mother and brother deny teenager's fire death

Three people, including the victim's mother and brother, have denied killing a teenager in a house fire.

Leah Casson, 18, died at a property on Vicarage Street in North Shields on 16 January 2023.

Her mother Danielle Johnson, 43, and brother Louis Casson, 19, both of North Tyneside, denied charges of manslaughter and abstracting electricity.

Calvin Smith, 37, also denied the same charges while a fourth defendant, 42-year-old Craig Watson, had died in custody, Newcastle Crown Court heard. A trial estimated to last up to four weeks has been listed for October, with all three released on bail.

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