Sheffield mum appears in court charged with murdering sons

A Sheffield mum has appeared in court accused of murdering her two teenage sons.
Floral tributes outside the house on Gregg House Road, Shiregreen where two  boys were murderedFloral tributes outside the house on Gregg House Road, Shiregreen where two  boys were murdered
Floral tributes outside the house on Gregg House Road, Shiregreen where two boys were murdered

Sarah Barrass, aged 34, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday accused of killing 14-year-old Blake Barrass and his 13-year-old brother Tristan at a house in the Shiregreen area of Sheffield last month.

Her co-accused, Brandon Machin, aged 37, who is also charged with murdering the two boys, did not attend the hearing but appeared in court by video-link.

Floral tributes outside the house on Gregg House Road, Shiregreen where two  boys were murderedFloral tributes outside the house on Gregg House Road, Shiregreen where two  boys were murdered
Floral tributes outside the house on Gregg House Road, Shiregreen where two boys were murdered
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No pleas were entered during the 20-minute hearing and a trial date was fixed for November 12, at Sheffield Crown Court.

Barrass, formerly of Gregg House Road, Shiregreen, Sheffield, is also charged with three counts of attempted murder against two other children who cannot be named for legal reasons.

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

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

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Judge Jeremy Richardson QC remanded Barrass and Machin in custody and said they will appear again for another hearing at the same court on September 9.

Police were called to a semi-detached house in Gregg House Road, Shiregreen at around 7.30am on Friday, May 24 to reports of a ‘concern for safety’.

An air ambulance landed in the grounds of nearby Hartley Brook Primary Academy and six children were taken to hospital, where the two teenage boys sadly died.

The four younger children were released from hospital the following day.

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Post-mortem examinations were carried out on the two boys but have not yet been made public.

An inquest into their deaths was opened on June 5 and adjourned pending the crown court hearing.

Detectives have given no indication about the nature of the incident, but confirmed at the time that it was confined to one property and was not a shooting.

A number of vigils took place in Shiregreen in the days and weeks after the incident and Firth Park Academy are currently raising money for a memorial to Blake and Tristan.