Leah Casson, aged 18, tragically died following a house fire at her home on Vicarage Street, North Shields, on 16 January 2023.
Her mother, Danielle Johnson, 43, and brother, Louis Casson, 19, both from North Tyneside, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court denying charges of manslaughter and electricity abstraction linked to the fire.
Danielle Johnson and Louis Casson pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. They stood alongside Calvin Smith, 37, of North Shields, who also denies the manslaughter charge.
Johnson and Smith face additional charges of electricity abstraction covering the period from August to November 2022.
All three defendants further deny abstracting electricity between November 2022 and January 2023, the period leading up to the fatal fire.
The court was informed by Death Prosecutor Richard Wright KC that a fourth defendant, Craig Watson, who was also charged, died in prison before the trial could proceed.
The three remaining defendants were released on bail ahead of their four-week trial, which is scheduled to start on 5 October at Newcastle Crown Court.
Originally published by UKNIP.
