A man arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with a house fire that killed a seven-year-old girl and her aunt has been released without further action, Cleveland Police announced.
Police are continuing to question a second man in connection with the incident, which resulted in the deaths of Natalie McDonald, 34, and her niece, Valentina Foster. The man who was released is 31 years old.
The second man, identified as 23-year-old Jaden Wright, appeared in court on Saturday facing separate charges of grievous bodily harm and intentional strangulation. Magistrates in Teesside were told Wright was arrested on suspicion of murder in relation to the house fire in the Grangetown area on Wednesday. The GBH and strangulation charges relate to an alleged incident on August 25, the day before the fire, where a complainant living in a tent sustained injuries including a fractured eye socket.
Wright, of Middlesbrough, did not enter a plea and was remanded into police custody. He is scheduled to appear in court again on September 2.
Four other individuals were injured in the house blaze. A 48-year-old woman remains in critical but stable condition at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. A 27-year-old man is receiving treatment at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. Two teenage girls were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and have since been discharged.
Authorities stated on Friday that the property remained unstable, and work would be conducted to make the site safe and allow emergency services access. The fire is not being linked to a fatal collision on the A66 that claimed seven lives, including two police officers, although officers had initially considered a potential connection to wider gang violence in Teesside following that crash.