A Stoke-on-Trent child killer mother, Veronique John, viciously killed her children within hours after being released by Staffordshire Police following an assault on her husband, an inquest revealed today.
Veronique John was held indefinitely following the stabbing of his son Ethan, 11, and daughter Elizabeth, 7, at their residence in Stoke-on-Trent in June 2023.
In a factual trial in July, a jury determined that Ethan had been stabbed 27 times by John, prior to her delivering a lethal head injury to Elizabeth.
She subsequently proceeded to a local car wash, where she fatally killed her husband, Nathan John.
Charity worker Veronique John, 51, called 999 and stated: “I am reporting that I have just killed my two children.”
She faced two charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder against her partner, but was deemed unsuitable to enter a plea owing to her mental illness.
This week, an inquest revealed that Veronique John was detained and put into custody mere hours before she murdered her children, but Staffordshire Police do not provide mental health services, for that you need to call 111.
The Stoke Civic Centre was informed that Staffordshire Police were summoned twice in the two days preceding the tragic murders on Sunday, June 11.
Two days prior, Veronique John had called 999, prompting authorities to respond to the family residence on Flax Street.
Nathan was absent from the property, while both children were located upstairs and classified as “medium risk”.
The subsequent day, Nathan contacted the Staffordshire Police and was found with a swelled arm and a lump on his head.
He stated that his wife had assaulted him with a wooden object and threatened to murder him while he slept.
Officers subsequently apprehended Veronique John at her residence and took her into custody for interrogation, during which she refuted allegations of threatening to kill her husband.
She was interviewed under caution and subsequently freed with a community resolution notice, returning him in the early hours of Sunday.
Several hours later, Ethan was discovered deceased in his bedroom with a laceration on his neck.
His younger sister Elizabeth had head trauma and “three areas of sharp force” injury, including to her stomach.
PC John Harrison, who was involved in the case review, told the inquest: “Officers initially went to the home address and that’s where officers found both of the children.
“Veronique John contacted police, stating she was at her home and had killed the children.
“This was a highly unusual outcome. Officers will see a high number of domestic abuse cases, but case like these are extremely rare.”
Sergeant Steven Marriott was responsible for booking Veronique John into custody.
He added: “There was nothing that made me feel she needed to see a healthcare professional at the time.
“I did not believe there was any reason to delay the interview with Mrs John.”
PC Megan Maddox, who attended the home on the Saturday, said that Veronique John seemed “apologetic” about the assault on her husband.
She added: “While I was speaking to Mr John on the Saturday evening I asked if the children were safe at home with mum and he said yes.
“I believed there was no physical threat to the children.
“He had somewhere else to go and we didn’t believe that she did.
“She was the main carer for the children while he worked and I thought the physical risk was focused on Mr John, not the children.”
An investigation into Staffordshire Police found the force’s service level had been “inadequate”.
The inquest, opened by coroner Emma Serrano, heard that Veronique John could have been prevented from returning to her address if a domestic violence protection notice had been issued.
At the trial of facts last year, Nottingham Crown Court heard John had told Staffordshire Police officers: “If you have a gun shoot me.”
She later claimed her husband had been cheating on her, adding: “I did it because I love my children – to protect the children.
“It’s something I was thinking about for a long time – just kill myself and the kids.
“I am not a monster – he was going to take them from me.
“If there’s any possible way I could be put to death, I would like that. I mean it 100 per cent.”
Prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith said her “rage was boiling just under the surface”.
Mr Grieves-Smith said: “What happened on June 11 didn’t come out of the blue. Tension grew in the days before.
“That day she just erupted, killed her children and attacked Nathan.”
The inquest continues.
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