In 2020, a serious case review was released detailing the catastrophic failure to prevent the murders of 14-year-old Blake and 13-year-old Tristan Barrass. The investigation established that in May 2019, Sarah Barrass and her half-brother Brandon Machin—who were in a long-term incestuous relationship—strangled the two teenagers and attempted to kill their other four children. The prosecution reported at Sheffield Crown Court that the pair acted out of a “sick” fear that their decade-long secret was about to be exposed by social services.
The investigation established that the murders were the culmination of a serial pattern of manipulation. Barrass had initially attempted to poison all six of her children with a massive overdose of pills, telling them, “Mum knows best.” When the poisoning failed, she enlisted Machin to help her carry out the physical assaults. The prosecution reported that the pair used ligature strangulation and plastic bags to make “doubly sure” the boys were dead. Barrass frequently told her children, “I gave you life, I can take it away,” identifying a depraved belief that she owned the lives of her offspring.
SYSTEMIC OVERSIGHT AND INCESTUOUS SECRET
The court reported that social workers had been “manipulated” into believing Barrass was a “competent and caring” mother. The investigation established that she had moaned to authorities about needing a larger council home to “control” her children, while secretly fearing that a burgeoning child protection investigation would reveal Machin as the father of all six children. The prosecution reported that love letters between the siblings had been found as far back as their teens, but the relationship remained a serial secret for over 20 years.
Judge-led proceedings at Sheffield Crown Court concluded in late 2019. For their actions in Sheffield and the nature of the serial murder investigation reported, Sarah Barrass and Brandon Machin were jailed for life. The investigation established that both were ordered to serve a minimum of 35 years before being considered for parole. The 2020 review by the Sheffield Children Safeguarding Partnership cleared agencies of significant failings, concluding that the parents’ actions were unpredictable and “vile.”
STATUS AND STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS
Based on the judicial records as of April 2026:
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Murder x2; Attempted Murder x5; Conspiracy to Murder x6).
- Custodial Status: JAILED (In 2026, serving life sentences with a minimum 35-year term).
- Earliest Parole Date: 2054.
- Sex Offenders Register: Legally mandated for life due to the nature of the incestuous relationship and child safety risk.
- DBS Status: Placed on the Barred List (Indefinite and permanent ban from any role involving children or regulated activity).
- Judicial Oversight: Sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court; investigated by South Yorkshire Police.
- Criminal Record: Murdered two sons via strangulation; Attempted to poison six children; Maintained a 20-year incestuous relationship; Jailed for life in 2019.
- Origin: Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
MONITORING AND PUBLIC PROTECTION
Barrass and Machin are managed as Category A high-security prisoners. Due to the nature of their behaviour—specifically the serial planning of the murders and the poisoning of their own children—they are considered a maximum risk to the public and are subject to the highest level of statutory oversight. Authorities reported that the 2019 conviction and the subsequent 2020 review ensure that if either is ever released, they will be under lifelong supervision by the National Probation Service and the police.
As convicted child murderers, their details are permanently logged on national databases. Authorities state that the behavior of Barrass and Machin identifies individuals who prioritized their own perverted secrecy over the physical lives and safety of their children. Any future interaction with the public—should they survive their minimum 35-year terms—will be governed by the strictest conditions to ensure the ongoing protection of children from a pair who violated the core principles of humanity through murder and child abuse.
QUESTION – Given that social workers reportedly viewed the mother as “competent and caring” despite her serial incest and murder plot, do you believe the law should legally mandate that all parents under social services investigation must undergo “Compulsory DNA Paternity Testing” for all children to prevent such sick secrets from leading to violence?
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