Sheffield mum strangled teen sons and wrapped bin bags over their heads while plotting to kill her other four kids

A MONSTER mum strangled her two sons and placed bin bags on their heads to make “doubly sure” they were dead before attempting to murder her four other kids.

Sarah Barrass, 35, murdered Tristan, 13, and Blake, 14, just 12 minutes apart after posting on Facebook: “Murder is like potato chips; you can’t stop with just one.”

The evil mum became swept up in an “over-arching conspiracy”to kill her four other children, who are all aged under 13, because she feared they would go into care.

She ran a bath and repeatedly tried drowning one of the younger kids and fed all six of them medication in a grisly plot to kill them.

When she failed, Barrass began looking at different methods to murder her children – including suffocating, strangulation and drowning.

Barrass and co-accused family member Brandon Machin, 37, are being sentenced today at Sheffield Crown Court.

The killers last month pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder six of her children, including Tristan and Blake, as well as five counts of attempted murder.

Barrass wept as she dramatically changed her plea after previously protesting her innocence from the dock by shouting: “I didn’t kill my boys. Swear to God. I didn’t do it. You will see.”

‘BETTER OFF DEAD’

A cause of death was never previously released but it was revealed in court today both boys died from asphyxiation after they were strangled with bin bags placed over their heads.

Sadistic Barrass and Machin had attempted to murder Tristan, Blake and two other children on May 23 at home in Sheffield.

Karma Melly QC, prosecuting, said: “They decided the children were better off dead than in care and he said he would help Sarah Barrass to the best of his ability.”

They fed tablets to the kids and expected them to kill the youngsters “overnight”.

But they were still alive the next day, with the boys messaging a friend telling them “we’re not coming to school” as they felt sick.

‘THAT FEELING WHEN YOU WANT TO STRANGLE THE LIFE OUT OF SOMEONE’

Barrass then called Machin and told him the plan had not worked and he needed to come to the house.

It was then they strangled the two boys before repeatedly trying to drown one of the younger children.

An inquest heard Tristan was pronounced dead at 9.14am on May 14, while Blake died 12 minutes later at 9.26.am.

In a harrowing police interview, Machin said he killed Blake and Barrass killed Tristan – with the bags then wrapped around their heads to make “doubly sure” they were dead.

After murdering Blake because he got “that feeling when you just want to strangle the life out of someone”, the brute then calmly walked downstairs and had an energy drink.

CHILLING FACEBOOK POSTS

In the weeks leading up to their deaths, twisted Barrass had posted a string of chilling quotes and pictures on Facebook – including the Stephen King quote comparing murder to crisps.

In one post accompanied by a picture of the Grim Reaper, she wrote: “I’m not mean or cold hearted. I’m just sick of being f****d over.”

Another featured an image of Death holding a blood-covered scythe with the message: “Coming for you…”

Her own brother branded the fiend “evil from birth” with an obsession with the macabre.

Martyn Barrass said her and Machin would spend hours watching horror movies and slaughtered pet mice before eventually turning their attention to the innocent children.

And he believes the deaths could have been prevented if social services had acted on his warnings.

Martyn told the Sunday Mirror: “Those two have been evil since birth. They are both as bad as each other, they are both murdering, evil psychopaths.”

The brother claimed Machin had attacked Blake when he was just a toddler, while Barrass injured a girl by shoving her from a tree.

Tristan and Blake were buried together in one coffin earlier this year with an enormous cortege of 300 motorcycles and two Lamborghini cars escorting them to their final resting place.

A case review into the deaths of the two boys by People Services at Sheffield City Council is now due to take place.