In 2019, the Offender Database recorded that 35-year-old Sarah Barrass and her half-brother 39-year-old Brandon Machin were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of two of their sons. Appearing at Sheffield Crown Court, South Yorkshire, the defendants—of Gregg House Road, Shiregreen, Sheffield, South Yorkshire—pleaded guilty to the murders of Tristan Barrass, 13, and Blake Barrass, 14. It was reported that the pair, who were in an incestuous relationship and had six children together, carried out the killings after a failed attempt to poison four of the children with prescription medication the previous day.
The investigation established that Barrass and Machin strangled the teenagers at their home before suffocating them with plastic bags to ensure their deaths. South Yorkshire Police reported that the pair also attempted to drown another child in a bath and conspired to murder all six of their children to prevent them from being taken into local authority care. The prosecution reported that Barrass had frequently told the children she had given them life and could take it away, while maintaining a public image of a loving single mother supported by her brother in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Judicial Findings and Investigative Detail
The court reported that the murders followed a 48-hour period of sustained attempts to end the children’s lives. Sheffield Crown Court, South Yorkshire, heard that Barrass and Machin had planned the killings for nine days, searching the internet for methods of strangulation and suffocation. The investigation established that none of the professional agencies involved with the family were aware that Machin was the biological father of all six children, as Barrass had claimed their father was deceased.
Mr Justice Goss described the crimes as an “enormity” and a profound betrayal of parental duty. For their actions in Shiregreen, Sheffield, Barrass and Machin were each handed life sentences. The judge noted that while the defence highlighted Barrass’s own traumatic childhood in the care system, the cold-blooded nature of the conspiracy and the fear inflicted upon the children necessitated a significant minimum term to reflect the gravity of the offences.
Status and Statutory Requirements
For the crimes reported in England, the status of Sarah Barrass and Brandon Machin as of 2026 was as follows:
- Custodial Sentence: Life imprisonment (Minimum term of 35 years) (Sentenced 2019).
- Parole Eligibility: Not before 2054.
- Family Status: Children remain in the care of the local authority with lifelong anonymity orders.
- Judicial Oversight: Sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court, South Yorkshire, following a South Yorkshire Police investigation.
- Criminal Record: Murder (2 counts); Attempted murder (5 counts); Conspiracy to murder.
- Origin: Gregg House Road, Shiregreen, Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Monitoring and Public Protection
Barrass and Machin are managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) within the high-security prison estate. Due to the nature of their conduct in Sheffield, which involved an incestuous conspiracy to murder six children, their management is a maximum priority. Authorities state that a 2020 serious case review concluded the murders could not have been predicted by professionals, despite claims from family members that warnings about the pair’s violent history were ignored by social services.
As convicted child killers, their details are permanently logged on the national police database. Authorities state that their behaviour demonstrated a calculated and manipulative effort to deceive both the state and their own children. Any potential future release, which is not possible for nearly three decades, will be subject to the most stringent licensing conditions, including a permanent ban on any contact with the surviving children or their carers. This oversight is intended to uphold the protection of the public and ensure the ongoing safety of the survivors from two confirmed predators.
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