A man arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with a house fire that killed a seven-year-old girl and her aunt has appeared in court charged with grievous bodily harm and intentional strangulation.
Jaden Wright, 23, from Middlesbrough, appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Saturday charged with the separate alleged offences.
The court heard how Wright was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of murder in connection with the house fire in the Grangetown area of Teesside on Wednesday, which killed Natalie McDonald, 34, and her niece Valentina Foster.
Wright was subsequently charged with the GBH and strangulation offenses relating to an alleged incident in Grange Farm Road on August 25, the court heard.
Prosecutors said the complainant in this case was living in a tent when she was allegedly attacked by the defendant.
She was taken to hospital, where she was found to have injuries including a fractured eye socket.
Magistrates agreed to a request to remand Wright, of King George’s Terrace, in custody.
He must appear again in the same court on Wednesday, September 2.
Valentina Foster, 7, and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, died in the fire on Wednesday
Police officers at the scene of the Grangetown house fire this morning
No pleas have been entered.
Dressed in a gray T-shirt, Wright sat in the glass dock next to a single security guard during the 30-minute hearing.
He spoke only to confirm his name and personal details.
Four other people were injured in the house fire and Cleveland police said after the incident they had arrested two men, aged 23 and 31, on suspicion of murder.
On Friday, police said the house remains unstable and that work will be carried out on the building in the coming days to make the site safe, including safe access for emergency services.
They said a 48-year-old woman remains in a ‘critical but stable’ condition at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle and a 27-year-old man remains at James Cook University Hospital where he is being treated.
Two teenage girls suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were released from the hospital after treatment, police said.
