A mother has been jailed for 35 years for killing her two teenage sons

A mother has been jailed for 35 years for killing her two teenage sons out of fear that social services would take them into care after they were conceived with her half-brother.  

 

Sarah Barrass, 35, mother of six, conspired to kill all her children at their Sheffield home on May 24. After failed attempts to poison four of her children the night before both Tristan and Blake Barrass, 13 and 14, were strangled by the couple.  

 

The court heard that Sarah Barrass feared that her children would be taken into care, an experience that had left her scarred as a child, so she told Machin, 39, that they "were better off dead".

 

When police arrived at the property, they were led to believe that the eldest sons were not at the property but both boys were found lying on their beds with their heads covered with bin bags. 

 

Barrass and Machin were given life sentences with a minimum of 35 years after entering guilty pleas to two counts of murder, and conspiracy to murder six children and five counts of attempted murder. 

 

A Serious Case Review (SCR) has been launched to examine whether social services missed any opportunities to save the lives of the children. 

 

It is claimed that a family member raised concerns about the welfare of the children on more than one occasion. This has been disputed by the service and a review is expected to take up to six months to be completed.