A serious case review will be held after a mother was charged with the murder of her two teenage sons, Sheffield City Council has announced.
Sarah Barrass, 34, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday accused of murdering Blake Barrass, 14, and Tristan Barrass, 13, in an “incident” last Friday, the BBC reports.
Barrass is also charged with three counts of attempted murder against two other children, who cannot be identified due to a court order.
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What happened?
The Daily Telegraph says that it remains “unclear how the boys were killed”.
The “alarm had been raised after the two boys sent a message from a Nintendo Switch console to another friend saying that they were ‘feeling sick’ at 7am” on Friday 24 May, The Times reports.
South Yorkshire Police arrived at the semi-detached house in the Shiregreen area of Sheffield at around 7.30am after receiving “reports of concerns for safety”. They said it was an “isolated” incident, confined to one property, and they were not looking for anybody else in relation to the deaths. Four other children were rushed to hospital and released by Sunday.
Danny Savage, the BBC’s North of England correspondent, said: “There’s been speculation about what has happened here – there was even a suggestion of a shooting at one point, prompting police to say no guns were involved. Officers won’t be drawn on the circumstances, so there’s lots of unanswered questions as the inquiry goes on.”
When will Sarah Barrass go on trial?
Barrass first appeared at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on Sunday alongside the victims’ uncle Brandon Machin, 37, who also faces two counts of murder.
The Telegraph reports that the pair appeared wearing grey prison T-shirts and flanked by three security dock officers, and confirmed their names, dates of birth, addresses and nationalities.
The Times says that Barrass “complained to magistrates that they had misspelt the names of her dead sons and she could be heard shouting at Mr Machin as they were led away from the dock”.
On Tuesday, at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Roger Thomas QC fixed a trial date for 12 November. The pair have been remanded in custody and are expected to appear in court again on 21 June.
What will the serious case review achieve?
The local authority’s Safeguarding Children Board is due to formally commission the review, which will be made public once it has concluded, reports the local Sheffield Star newspaper.
Councillor Jackie Drayton, Sheffield City Council’s cabinet member for children and families, said: “All partners in the city will be coming together to understand, review and reflect on exactly what happened and why.”
The board is expected to meet next on 13 June.
Gill Furniss, the local Labour MP, said: “I’m deeply saddened by the tragedy in Shiregreen. My sympathies are with the loved ones of the children who have lost their lives. Shiregreen is a strong community – I know the whole area is shaken by what has happened.”
