Police release one suspect but continue to question a second suspect over Grangetown house fire that killed girl, seven, and her aunt




Cleveland Police have released a 31-year-old man without charge over the fatal house fire in Grangetown, Middlesbrough, that killed seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, in the early hours of Wednesday. A second suspect, Jaden Wright, 23, remains in custody as detectives continue questioning him over the alleged murder. A 48-year-old woman injured in the same blaze remains in a critical but stable condition at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
Wright appeared in court on Saturday charged with grievous bodily harm and intentional strangulation as distinct charges, arising from an alleged attack the day before the fire.
Prosecutors told Teesside magistrates that the alleged victim in that unrelated matter had been living in a tent when the attack took place and suffered injuries that included a fractured eye socket.
Wright, of King George's Terrace, Middlesbrough, was remanded into police custody and is due back in court on Wednesday, September 2.
