Tristan tried to fight back. He begged his mother to stop. But Sarah and Brandon had already made their choice. By the time the police arrived at the house on Greg House Road, the two boys were already gone.
Trash bags were still tied over their heads. The officers found them in their bunk beds. The brothers were 14 and 13. Blake was the oldest, the one with the big heart who played football and cheered people up when they felt down.
Tristan was the second oldest, quiet and anxious, the kind of kid who dyed his hair bright yellow to raise money for a friend with bone cancer. People in the small Sheffield community knew them as polite, smiling, sweet boys who loved cars and motorcycles. Their mother, Sarah, told everyone their father was dead. But the real father of her children was her own half-brother, Brandon.
Their secret relationship had been hidden for years. From the outside, Brandon just looked like a supportive uncle, a doormat who would do anything Sarah asked. Sarah’s brother Martin had known something was wrong for a long time. He’d called Social Services years ago, when Tristan was still a baby and Blake was just a toddler.
He had watched Brandon grab Blake’s arm and drag him across the floor. He had phoned three times, told them about the incident, and heard nothing back. Martin remembered growing up with his siblings. He remembered Sarah and Brandon crushing small mice under their feet and laughing.
He remembered Sarah pushing a girl out of a tree for no reason. He remembered when she was young, she was shy and protective. But once Brandon came into the picture, she changed. She became a bully.
They were thick as thieves, always whispering together. Sarah was no stranger to child services. She had reached out for help with her six children, four of whom had special needs. She was terrified her children would be taken away.
Social workers had checked on the family regularly, but they never suspected anything. They saw Sarah as a competent, caring mother. Then, in 2018, disturbing allegations were made against Blake. Details were vague, but he was accused of inappropriate behavior toward another child.
Blake worked with a social worker and responded well to treatment. Sarah was advised to maintain an open-door policy for social workers, and she struggled to keep it. In May 2019, things began to unravel. Social workers had a meeting with the children, without Sarah present.
She was anxious about it. The next day, she learned her family would be under closer observation. She was questioned about the identity of the children’s father and about possible abuse in the home. She refused to answer.
The social workers described her as defiant. Then, on May 23rd, Sarah got a phone call. The caller accused Tristan of inappropriate behavior against another child and said they would go to the police the very next day. That call was the tipping point.
Sarah had sent messages to friends before, venting about her fears. She had written about wanting to die, about running away, about every possible solution to her mess. She had posted images of grim reapers on social media. She had quoted Stephen King: “Murder is like potato chips.
You can’t stop with just one. ”
She meant it. Sarah and Brandon made their plans over the course of a week. On the night of May 23rd, Sarah collected various medications from around the house and forced her four older children to take them.
The children protested, but their mother made them swallow the pills. She hoped they would overdose in their sleep. But the drug cocktail wasn’t lethal. The children became sick, but they survived.
Frantically, Sarah searched online for causes of death: drowning, strangulation, suffocation. At five in the morning, she called Brandon. He took a taxi to the house. Together, they strangled Tristan and Blake.
Sarah used the belt from her bathrobe. Brandon used his bare hands. Tristan fought back and begged his mother to stop. Blake yelled to his younger siblings before Brandon descended on him.
“Mom is killing Tristan. ”
When the boys went limp, Sarah and Brandon tied trash bags over their heads to make sure they were dead. Brandon helped himself to an energy drink. Sarah tried to drown another one of her children in the bathtub.
The child screamed and thrashed, asking, “Why are you trying to kill us? ”
Sarah couldn’t do it. She stopped, gathered her remaining children into her bedroom, and called the authorities on herself. Officers arrived between 7:30 and 7:45 in the morning.
They asked about the two older boys. Sarah said they were visiting someone. But one of the surviving children looked at the officers and drew a hand across their throat. Sarah saw it.
“Stop. Don’t say that. ”
The police found Tristan and Blake in their bunk beds. The trash bags were still over their heads.
Both boys were pronounced dead between 9 and 9:30 that morning. Sarah told the medical examiners she had tried to poison her children with medication. But Brandon confessed everything. He said he began strangling Blake because he got that feeling, “when you just want to strangle the life out of someone.
”
The other four children were taken to the hospital. They were discharged that afternoon. The police presence outside the home drew the media. At first, the public speculated about a shooting.
The house was less than a mile from a school, and concerns ran high. Police assured the community there was no wider risk. Sarah’s brother Martin learned about his nephews through a link on Facebook. He said it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his stomach.
He was disgusted. “There are no words for them. Blake and Tristan were polite, kind-hearted lads. It’s a tragic waste of life.
” He blamed Social Services for failing to act. They had been aware of the family for years. “The main people to blame are Sarah and Brandon,” he said. “But Social Services could have prevented it.
This will haunt us forever. ”
The local community was shattered. A 31-year-old mother said her daughter asked, “Mommy, you won’t kill or hurt me, will you? ” Another resident said it made you question what people are capable of behind closed doors.
A psychologist advised families to talk through their fears and seek help. “If you break your leg and don’t treat it, it won’t heal and you will always limp. ”
Sarah and Brandon pled guilty to conspiracy to murder and attempted murder. Sarah cried when she was told about the possible life sentence.
The prosecutor told the court that one of the surviving children had expressed fear that they would grow up to be violent criminals because their mother and father were murderers. They said they missed their brothers. The youngest children, all under three years old, never called out for their mother during or after the trial. One of them asked that their mother be locked away for 300 years.
The child who was nearly drowned developed a fear of baths. The judge, Justice Jeremy Richardson, told the defendants: “No words of mine can ever fully reflect the enormity of what you have both done. The crimes you have committed, quite frankly, speak for themselves. ”
Sarah and Brandon were each sentenced to 35 years to life in prison.
After the sentencing, the press was finally allowed to report the incestuous relationship between Sarah and Brandon, which had been proven in court. Tristan and Blake’s friend, Matthew Saunders, spoke outside the courthouse. “Blake and Tristan were two beautiful, confident, outgoing boys who had a bright future ahead of them. They lit up any room they were in.
A piece of all our hearts died on the 24th of May 2019, which we will never get back. ”
The community raised money for the funeral, but the funeral director paid for the boys’ burials out of his own pocket. The money was split four ways and put into bank accounts for the surviving children. Three hundred local bikers took part in the funeral procession, inspired by the boys’ love of cars and motorcycles.
A white wooden bench was placed outside their school, decorated with flowers, ribbons, and a plush animal. The house on Greg House Road stood abandoned for a time, a reminder of the tragedy. Neighbors called for it to be demolished. It finally was, in February 2021.
The new owners planned to create an open space with a memorial tree. The surviving children had their names changed. They have not spoken out since.
