Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In May of twenty nineteen, police in South Yorkshire, England
were called to a house to do a welfare check
on six children. When officers arrived at the scene, they
found the children, some of whom were on responsive, and
took the two adults at the house in custody. But
it wasn't the attack on the children that would become
the most shocking discovery that day. This is monsters. He
(00:50):
was seven thirty am on May twenty fourth, twenty nineteen,
when at least a dozen police cars arrived at Greghouse
Road in northern Sheffield. Just a few minutes prior, a
woman named Sarah Barris sent a text message to a
friend that read quote He's trying to kill us and
Tristan and Blake are already dead. At least twelve police
(01:10):
car some reporting up to fifteen, arrived at the property
and officers stormed the house. Inside they found two adults
and six children aged from seven months to fourteen years old.
Some of the children were unresponsive and though some were not,
they were all rushed to the hospital. The two oldest children,
fourteen year old Blake and thirteen year old Tristan, were
(01:33):
not able to be resuscitated. But the other children recovered.
Officers took both of the adults into custody as they
investigated the situation. Thirty four year old Sarah Barris was
the mother of all six children and was believed by
her neighbors to be a single mother who was doing
everything she could to raise her family with the help
of her thirty nine year old half brother, Brandon Machen.
(01:57):
He was early in twenty nineteen that Sarah went to
child Services and asked for help dealing with autism and
ADHD in some of her children. That set in motion
a series of visits from a social worker that would
ultimately uncover a dark secret that Sarah had been keeping
from everyone. She told people that all the children had
the same father, but he wasn't involved in their lives.
(02:20):
She told the children that their father had died serving
in the military during World War II, more than fifty
years before the oldest child was even born. Obviously, the
children were too young to comprehend that, But what if
one of them had mentioned that to a friend or
a teacher, and maybe one of them had said that
to a social worker because they seemed unsatisfied with the
(02:43):
absence of the children's father and Sarah's story that her
half brother was just a helping hand. There were also
allegations of sexual assault lodged against both of her eldest children. First,
an allegation against fourteen year old Blake emerged in November
of two thousand and eight, followed by a similar claim
against thirteen year old Tristan in May of twenty nineteen.
(03:06):
All of that caused the social worker to upgrade the
children's statuses from child in need to child in protection.
That would have increased the amount of scrutiny that Sarah
was under, and she decided that it would be too much.
What investigators would eventually learn was that it was Brandon
who was the father of all six children. Brandon and
(03:28):
Sarah shared a mother and both grew up in the
care system. Their mother had suspected them of having been
in a relationship in their teens and reported it to
social services, but Sarah denied the claim and there was
nothing more done. When Brandon aged out of the care system,
the two were separated for a few years, but once
Sarah was also out, they reunited and she became pregnant
(03:51):
with their first child together when she was nineteen. They
always lived separately and he played the part of helpful
brother when in reality he was the children's biological father.
When the social worker indicated that she was going to
be inspecting their lives more thoroughly, Sarah developed an overwhelming
fear that the authorities would discover the incestuous relationship. Prosecutors
(04:14):
told Sheffield Crown Court that the pair quote decided that
children were better off dead than in care. According to
court testimony, Sarah told the police she quote would rather
see them dead than in care. Brandon later revealed that
Sarah had declared, quote, they need to die now. I'd
rather kill them and kill myself than lose them to care.
(04:38):
I gave them life and I can take it away.
It's yet another story of someone claiming they were going
to kill someone else and then themselves, yet they never
seemed to get to the part where they end their
own lives. I think the truth is that they selfishly
kill someone else and only added themselves to the list
of potential victims to gain sympathy after the fact. The
(05:00):
prosecutor explained that the couple's fear of their relationship being
exposed intensified their desperation. She said, quote, although clearly the
defendants were motivated to prevent the loss of their children
to the care of the local authority. This was combined
with their fear of the authorities becoming aware of their
unnatural relationship. The final trigger appeared to have been a
(05:22):
phone call on May twenty third, when Sarah was informed
of another alleged sexual assault by Tristan against a child,
with the caller threatening to report the matter to social services.
On the evening of May twenty third, Sarah and Brandon
gathered tablets from around Sarah's home, primarily using prescribed ADHD
medication that belonged to one of the children. They divided
(05:46):
those pills among their four eldest children and forced them
to take the medication despite their resistance. In court, the
prosecutor explained quote none of the children wanted to take
the tablets, but were forced to do so. Oh Sarah
and Brandon expected the tablets to kill the children overnight.
Throughout that night, Sarah posted on social media claiming the
(06:09):
children had caught a sickness bug. However, by morning, it
became evident their poisoning attempt had failed. Upon realizing that,
Sarah immediately contacted Brandon, summoning him back to her home. First,
they targeted Blake, with Brandon strangling him using his hands. Simultaneously,
Sarah strangled Tristan with her dressing gown cord, applying pressure
(06:32):
for approximately three minutes. To ensure both teenagers were dead,
they switched victims and then placed plastic bags over the
boy's heads. After murdering the two teenagers, the couple immediately
turned their attention to the younger children. They ran a
bath and repeatedly attempted to drown one of the younger siblings,
who fought back and survived the murder attempt. Realizing the
(06:56):
enormity of what they had done, Sarah barricaded herself in
a bedroom droom with her four surviving children. She then
texted a friend quote, he's trying to kill us and
Tristan and Blake are already dead. Her friend contacted police
around seven forty five am, while Sarah did the same thing.
When officers arrived at the shire Green home, Sarah initially
(07:18):
claimed her other two children were with neighbors. However, one
of the surviving children silently signaled to a police officer
what had happened by drawing his hand across his throat.
Sarah immediately told the child to quote stop, don't say that.
Sarah initially tried to pin the attack solely on Brandon.
Police found evidence that after the failed poisoning attempt, Sarah
(07:41):
had conducted extensive online research for alternative murder methods. Computer
records revealed searches for suffocation, strangulation, and drowning as she
methodically planned the next attempt. Notably, investigators found earlier messages
where Sarah had contemplated her option, writing I've thought of
(08:02):
every possible solution to this mess mass murder, putting them
all in care, checking into the local nuthouse. I love
my kids too much to kill them. I can't put
them into care for the same reason that contradictory statement
ultimately gave way to a horrific final decision. In the end,
both Sarah and Branded pleaded guilty to the murders and
(08:24):
attempted murders of the children. In November of twenty nineteen,
Sheffield Crown Court delivered its judgment on what prosecutors described
as crimes of nothing but evil. The court opted against
imposing rare full life terms, instead sentencing both Sarah and
Brand into concurrent life sentences with a minimum of thirty
five years for the murders. Additionally, they received concurrent life
(08:48):
sentences with minimum terms of ten years for the counts
of attempted murder and conspiracy to murder. The judge delivered
a scathing assessment of the killer's justification, telling Sarah directly,
you considered your love for them and fear of being
parted from them entitled you to take their lives as
well as your own. Throughout the sentencing hearing, the court
(09:10):
heard how visitors to Sarah's house frequently overheard her threatening
her children with the chilling phrase quote, I gave you life,
I can take it away. The prosecutor characterized the case
as quote an appalling crime in which two young lives
were lost and a family torn apart, leaving a community
in shock. Heartbreaking statements from the emotionally broken surviving children
(09:34):
were read in court, with one child expressing they wanted
their parents in prison for three hundred years. Another child
voiced fears they might become a murderer themselves. The defense
attempted to mitigate Sarah's culpability by describing her as profoundly
damaged by her childhood, during which she suffered neglect and
various forms of abuse, he said, quote. The defendant was
(09:58):
desperate to prevent her children being taped into care. She
couldn't cope with the prospect of them being removed. Experts
noted that child killers typically face grim prospects in prison,
saying quote, in a lot of cases of child homicide,
the parents don't last very long in prison. They're at
very high risk of suicide and at very high risk
(10:19):
of attack. I doubt very much they will live to
see the end of their sentences. Following the murders, authorities
launched a comprehensive investigation into potential warning signs missed by
the system. A Serious Case Review or SCR, commissioned by
Sheffield Children's Safeguarding Partnership examined how a supposed loving mother
(10:39):
and supportive uncle could transform into killers without detection. The
SCR reached a surprising conclusion, determining there was no evidence
that practitioners could have predicted or anticipated the parent's actions.
The review described Sarah as a loving, caring and competent
mother who advocated and fought hard for her children. Remarkably,
(11:01):
the review identified significant evidence of effective and caring practice
with the children by all agencies involved. With the family.
David Ashcroft, chair of Sheffield Children Safeguarding Partnership, nevertheless acknowledged
areas for improvement, particularly an understanding harmful sexual behavior, taking
holistic views of family engagement, and paying closer attention to
(11:24):
male caregivers. The four surviving children faced a devastated future
on the wake of their siblings murders. Cord statements reveal
the deep psychological wounds inflicted by witnessing such horrific events
at the hands of trusted caregivers. Two of the surviving
children directly witness their brothers being attacked, creating profound trauma
(11:45):
that experts say they quote will continue to experience is unimaginable.
One child expressed fear they would become a murderer when
they were older because quote that's what their mum and
Brandon dead. Another who s and Brandon attempted to drown,
has developed a fear of baths. Court documents describe the
(12:06):
children as emotionally broken. They repeatedly asked questions that have
no answer, such as why and how that happened to
their family. The two older survivors particularly struggle knowing they
will not see their big brothers again and not see
their other siblings every day. The judge acknowledged that inevitably
they will require a significant amount of support. The long
(12:28):
term consequences for them as they grow older and become
aware of what happened cannot be known, but it's likely
to be significant. Following consultations with the surviving family members,
Sanctuary Housing demolished the crime scene on February seventeen, twenty
twenty one. The property stood as a permanent reminder of
the tragedy for traumatized neighbors. The site now features a
(12:52):
memorial garden with a central tree. A local resident commented quote,
this will hopefully be a very lovely memorial b garden
for not only siblings and family members, but also the
community that was rocked by such a horrible tragedy. I
started this show covering cases of philocide, the act of
apparent murdering their own children. It is unfortunately not uncommon,
(13:16):
or at least not uncommon enough, and this story would
have already been shocking. The incessed aspect being added to
the case made this story stand out even more and
will leave a lasting impression on the community that lived
amongst these monsters. If you're the victim, of domestic abuse.
Please reach out to someone for help. Please talk to
(13:36):
your local shelter. Call the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at
one eight hundred seven nine ninth safe that's one eight
hundred seven nine nine seven two three three, or you
can go to the hotline dot org to chat with
someone online. If you're having feelings of harming yourself or
someone else, or even just need someone to talk to,
please contact your local mental health facility call nine one one,
(13:58):
or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline by simply dialing
nine eight eight in the United States. They're available twenty
four hours a day, seven days a week, and we'll
talk to you about any mental health issue you might
be facing. If you're a member of the LGBTQ plus
community and suffering from discrimination, depression, or are in need
of any support, please contact the LGBT National Hotline at
(14:20):
one eight eight eight eight four three four five six four,
or go to LGBT Hotline dot org. Thanks so much
for letting me tell you this story. If you're a
fan of true crime, you can subscribe to this show
so you don't miss an episode. My other show, Somewhere
Sinister is no longer getting new episodes, but you can
check it out if you like interesting stories from history
(14:41):
that aren't necessarily true crime, but true crime adjacent. It's
available anywhere that you listen to podcasts. You can also
check out my personal vlog, Giles with a Jay, which
is sporadically updated with stuff about my personal life, travel
and music. It's available on YouTube. If you'd like to
support the show, check out our merchandise at this ismonsters
(15:01):
dot com. A link is in the description. Thanks again
and be safe