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| Brother jailed for blaze killings | Brother jailed for blaze killings |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A teenager who killed his two sisters when he set fire to his family's Tyneside home has been jailed. | A teenager who killed his two sisters when he set fire to his family's Tyneside home has been jailed. |
| Shane Spence doused the living room sofa in petrol before starting the blaze, which killed Tatum Leah, 14, and 12-year-old Demi-Jade. | Shane Spence doused the living room sofa in petrol before starting the blaze, which killed Tatum Leah, 14, and 12-year-old Demi-Jade. |
| The 18-year-old was found guilty of manslaughter and arson at Newcastle Crown Court in February. | The 18-year-old was found guilty of manslaughter and arson at Newcastle Crown Court in February. |
| On Monday, he was sentenced to a minimum six year jail term for the attack in Lisle Road, South Shields. | On Monday, he was sentenced to a minimum six year jail term for the attack in Lisle Road, South Shields. |
| Spence had denied starting the fire, but was convicted of the April 2007 blaze after a three-week trial. | |
| Post-mortem tests found both girls died of smoke inhalation and burns | |
| He was cleared of the attempted murder of his parents, John and Anita, both 37, who escaped the fire. | |
| During the trial, the court heard how the teenager, who did not live at the house, crept into the ex-council property after telling a friend he was popping back to pick up a CD. | |
| He then started the fire, which ripped through the house in minutes, before returning to the friend's house to watch a film. | |
| During the trial, the court heard Spence's life had been "in a state of turmoil" at the time of the incident. | |
| Prosecutor, Alistair MacDonald QC said the teenager had attempted suicide a few days earlier, after an argument in which he pushed his girlfriend, the mother of his one-year-old daughter. | |
| He had also recently given up his job, which Mr MacDonald said was much to his father's "disgust". | |
| The sisters died in their bedrooms of smoke inhalation and burns, a post-mortem examination found. | |
| A charred petrol can was found by investigators in the lounge of the family's home. |