House fire victim’s mother and brother appear in court

• The mother and brother of Leah Casson, 18, have denied manslaughter following her death in a house fire in North Shields in January 2023.
• Danielle Johnson, 43, and Louis Casson, 19, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court alongside Calvin Smith, 37, who also pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.
• Johnson and Smith additionally denied abstracting electricity between August and November 2022.
• All three defendants pleaded not guilty to abstracting electricity from November 2022 to January 2023, the period when the fatal fire occurred.
• The three defendants were granted bail ahead of a four-week trial scheduled to commence on 5 October, while a fourth defendant, Craig Watson, died in prison.

IN FULL

Mother and brother appear in court over teenager’s death in house fire