A mother who brutally murdered her two young children just hours after being released from police custody could have been prevented from returning home if officers had issued a domestic violence protection notice, an inquest has heard. Veronique John, 51, stabbed her son Ethan, 11, at least 27 times and inflicted fatal head injuries on daughter Elizabeth, seven, at their Stoke-on-Trent home in June 2023.
The shocking killings occurred within hours of John being released by Staffordshire Police following her arrest for assaulting her husband Nathan with a piece of wood. The inquest at Stoke Civic Centre this week revealed that police attended the family home twice in the 48 hours before the murders but failed to recognise the escalating danger.
John, who was detained indefinitely under a hospital order last July after being deemed unfit to stand trial, called 999 herself after the killings, telling the operator: “I am calling to report I just killed my two kids.”
Police Attended Home Twice Before Murders
Coroner Emma Serrano heard that officers were first called to the family’s Flax Street home on Friday 9 June 2023, two days before the murders. John had dialled 999 herself, though the exact nature of this call was not detailed at the inquest.
During this visit, Nathan John was not present at the property. Officers found both children upstairs and assessed them as being at “medium risk” – a categorisation that would prove tragically inadequate.
The following day, Saturday 10 June, Nathan called police reporting that his wife had struck him with a piece of wood, leaving him with a swollen arm and lump on his head. Crucially, he told officers that John had threatened to kill him in his sleep.
Critical Decision to Release John
Despite the serious nature of the threats, officers arrested John and took her into custody for questioning. During her police interview, she denied making threats to kill her husband and appeared “apologetic” about the assault.
PC Megan Maddox, who attended the Saturday incident, told the inquest: “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.”
The officer added: “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.”
John was subsequently released with only a community resolution notice – a low-level disposal for minor offences – and returned home in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“Highly Unusual” Tragedy Unfolds
Within hours of her release, John carried out the horrific attacks. Ethan was discovered dead in his bedroom with catastrophic neck wounds, whilst Elizabeth had suffered head trauma and “three areas of sharp force injury,” including to her stomach.
After killing her children, John travelled to a nearby car wash where she stabbed her husband Nathan in the stomach. He survived the attack and was discharged from hospital the same day.
PC John Harrison, involved in the case review, told the inquest: “This was a highly unusual outcome. Officers will see a high number of domestic abuse cases, but cases like these are extremely rare.”
Mental Health Assessment Missed
Sergeant Steven Marriott, who booked John into custody, revealed he saw no indication she required mental health assessment. There was nothing that made me feel she needed to see a healthcare professional at the time,” he stated. “I did not believe there was any reason to delay the interview with Mrs John.”
This assessment would prove catastrophically wrong. At her trial of facts last year, the court heard John had been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder as well as personality and depressive disorders.
Domestic Violence Protection Notice Could Have Saved Lives
The inquest heard that police could have prevented John from returning to the family home by issuing a Domestic Violence Protection Notice (DVPN). This civil order can bar suspected perpetrators from their home for up to 28 days, providing breathing space for victims and allowing time for proper risk assessment.
The coroner was told that such notices are designed specifically for situations where immediate protection is needed but criminal charges may not be appropriate or sufficient. The failure to consider this option has been identified as a critical missed opportunity.
Police Service Branded “Inadequate”
An internal investigation by Staffordshire Police found the force’s service level had been “inadequate” in their handling of the case. The force made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) the day after the murders.
The IOPC directed that a local investigation should take place, which concluded that the service provided was “unacceptable.” The findings are currently being reviewed by the police watchdog.
A Staffordshire Police spokesman confirmed: “Our Professional Standards Department completed their investigation which found the service level provided was unacceptable. As is standard in these circumstances, we sent a report back for the IOPC to review which is currently being considered.”
Chilling Words to Police
During the trial of facts at Nottingham Crown Court last year, harrowing details emerged of John’s state of mind. After her arrest for the murders, she told officers: “If you have a gun shoot me.
She later claimed her husband had been having an affair, 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.”
In a chilling admission, she stated: “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.”
Judge Describes “Abominable Savagery”
At the conclusion of the trial of facts, High Court Judge Mr Justice Choudhury described the attacks as “frenzied and heinous” acts of “abominable savagery” that were “almost too horrific to comprehend.
The judge noted that the wounds inflicted on Ethan were “almost as if” John was trying to decapitate him. Elizabeth had suffered a fractured skull alongside multiple knife wounds.
Prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith told the court that John’s “rage was boiling just under the surface” and that “what happened on June 11 didn’t come out of the blue. Tension grew in the days before.”
Warning Signs Missed
The inquest has highlighted multiple warning signs that were either missed or inadequately addressed by authorities. The escalating pattern of violence, explicit death threats, and John’s deteriorating mental state all pointed to an extremely high-risk situation.
John, originally from the Caribbean island of St Vincent, had worked as a charity shop volunteer and was described as the children’s primary carer. The family lived in a terraced house on Flax Street in Stoke-on-Trent.
Indefinite Hospital Order
Following the trial of facts, John was made subject to an indefinite hospital order, meaning she may never be released from secure psychiatric care. The jury found she had committed the acts of killing her children and attempting to murder her husband, though she was unable to stand trial due to her mental illness.
The case has raised serious questions about police responses to domestic violence incidents, particularly where children may be at risk. The failure to recognise the danger posed by a parent who had made death threats represents a catastrophic breakdown in safeguarding procedures.
The inquest continues, with the coroner expected to make recommendations aimed at preventing similar tragedies. The IOPC’s review of Staffordshire Police’s handling of the case remains ongoing.
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