Three people have been found guilty of murdering Oxford brother and sister Majid and Anum Khan in an arson attack.

Anum, nine, died in her Magdalen Road home on August 26, 1997. Her brother Majid, 15, died two days later.

A jury at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday found 19-year-olds Alan Swanton, of Southern Way, Letchworth, and Thomas Liedl, of Birdshill, Letchworth, guilty on two counts of murder.

Later they also found Mohammed Nawaz, 21, of Ridge Road, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, guilty on the same two murder counts. All three face life imprisonment.

The court had been told that either Swanton or Liedl had squirted petrol through the Khans' letterbox while the other lit the match. They admitted carrying out the arson attack but claimed they did not intend to kill anyone. Nawaz had driven from Hertfordshire to Oxford in a car carrying himself, his girlfriend Sarah Moon, Swanton and Liedl on the night of the fire. Ms Moon gave evidence for the prosecution.

The jury reached 11 to 1 majority verdicts on each of the charges. As the verdicts on Swanton and Liedl were read out, after 12 hours of deliberation across four days, a member of the victims' family in the public gallery shouted: "Yes".

The jury has retired again to consider verdicts on the three other defendants. They are Haroon Sharif, 20, of Morrell Avenue, Oxford; Riaz Munshi, 26, of Fulwell Road, Sheffield; and Haq Nawaz, 31, of Ridge Road, Letchworth. They all deny murder.

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