A man arrested on suspicion of the murder of a seven-year-old girl and her aunt who died in a house fire has been released without charge.
Cleveland Police said the 31-year-old would face no further action but stressed that detectives were continuing to question a second man in connection with the alleged attack, which led to the deaths of Natalie McDonald, 34, and her niece, Valentina Foster.
On Saturday he was named as Jaden Wright, 23, during an appearance in court in relation to separate offences of grievous bodily harm and intentional strangulation.
Magistrates in Teesside were told Wright, of Middlesbrough, was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the house fire, in the Grangetown area, on Wednesday.
He was subsequently charged with the GBH and strangulation offences which relate to another alleged incident in Grange Farm Road the day before, on August 25, the court heard.
Prosecutors said the unnamed complainant in the separate case was living in a tent when she was allegedly attacked by the defendant.
She was taken to hospital where it was found she had injuries including a fractured eye socket.
Magistrates agreed to an application for Wright, of King George’s Terrace, to be remanded into police custody.
Valentina Foster, seven, and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, died in the fire on Wednesday
Police officers at the scene of the Grangetown house fire last Wednesday
Dressed in a grey T-shirt, Wright sat in the glass-fronted dock for the 30-minute hearing next to a single security officer.
He did not enter a plea and spoke only to confirm his name and personal details.
Wright is due to appear again at the same court on Wednesday, September 2.
Four other people were injured in the house blaze, including a 48-year-old woman who remains in a ‘critical but stable’ condition at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle and a 27-year-old man, who is undergoing treatment at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.
Two teenage girls were also treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and were subsequently discharged.
On Friday, police said the property remained unstable and work will be carried out on the building over the coming days to make the site safe, which will also allow emergency services access inside.
They also confirmed the fire was not being linked to a fatal collision on the A66, which killed seven people, including two serving police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough.
Officers initially said they could not rule out a link with wider gang violence that broke out in Teesside after the smash, which also killed five young men in a VW Passat who had been driving the wrong way up the carriageway.
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