Double Sheffield child murder suspects appear in court over Shiregreen deaths

A man and a woman have appeared in court charged in connection with the deaths of two children in Sheffield on Friday.
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Sarah Barrass, aged 34, of Gregg House Road, Sheffield, and Brandon Machin, aged 37, of no fixed abode, appeared at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court this morning charged with the murders of 14-year-old Blake Barrass and 13-year-old Tristan Barrass on Friday, May 24.

Sarah Barrass was also charged with three counts of attempted murder against two other children on Thursday, May 23 and Friday, May 24.

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Those children – as well as two other youngsters – cannot be named for legal reasons.

Sheffield Magistrates' Court.Sheffield Magistrates' Court.
Sheffield Magistrates' Court.

The High Court injunction banning their identification covers social media comments, photos or anything else that could lead to their identification.

South Yorkshire Police warned that anyone who chooses to name them could be charged with contempt of court.

A packed Sheffield Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning heard both defendants confirm their names, dates of birth, addresses and nationalities before they were remanded in custody to appear at Sheffield Crown Court this morning.

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No application for bail was made for either defendant, who both appeared in court wearing grey prison issue t-shirts.

Barrass was removed from the dock temporarily to compose herself after she began to sob and could also be heard shouting as she left court.

A major police investigation into the incident began early on Friday after officers were called to Gregg House Road in Shiregreen to reports of ‘concerns for safety at a property’.

Six children were taken to hospital, among them Blake and Tristan Barrass, who sadly died.

The other four children were released from hospital on Saturday.

Post-mortem examinations to establish how the victims died were expected to take place on Friday but have as yet not been made public.