Mother Accused of Killing Her Children to Prevent Husband from Gaining Custody, Court Hears

 

A mother stands accused of fatally stabbing her two children, aged seven and eleven, to prevent their father from gaining custody, a jury at Nottingham Crown Court has been informed.

Veronique John allegedly stabbed her son, Ethan John, over 20 times and caused severe brain damage to her daughter, Elizabeth John, before going to a car wash in her dressing gown to stab her partner, Nathan John, in the stomach.

During a trial-of-facts hearing, the court heard that Veronique John then returned home, dialed 999, and reported, "I am calling to report I just killed my two kids."

The charity shop worker is alleged to have told police upon their arrival at her Stoke-on-Trent home on June 11 last year, "If you have a gun, shoot me. I am not a monster - he was going to take them from me."

It was further alleged that John, arrested the previous day for assaulting her husband, told officers, "I didn't want my husband to get them." She added, "It's something I was thinking about for a long time - just kill myself and the kids. Unless you guys are offering me the death penalty, I have nothing else to say. I did it because I love my children - to protect the children. If there's any possible way I could be put to death, I would like that. I mean it 100%."

Prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith described John's "boiling rage" following her arrest for assaulting her husband with a piece of wood. Addressing the jury, Mr. Grieves-Smith said John killed her children hours after conducting a "chilling" internet search: "Can a foreigner be charged with murder in the UK?"

John, from Flax Street, Stoke, faces charges of two counts of murder, attempted murder, and an alternative count of wounding, but has been deemed unfit to plead. The 50-year-old, currently being treated at a secure hospital, was not present in court for the Crown's opening speech.

The court learned that the relationship between John and her husband had been fraught with significant difficulties, including her opposition to him having an internet-enabled phone. On June 9 last year, John allegedly struck her husband with a wooden slat while their children were preparing for bed. Following a police complaint, John was arrested on June 10 and issued a community resolution notice.

Shortly after 2 pm on June 11, John allegedly went to the car wash where her husband had spent the night and stabbed him in the stomach. According to Mr. John’s subsequent 999 call, he reported, "My wife just came to the car wash and stabbed me - she said that she had just killed the kids."

Prosecutor Grieves-Smith stated, "What happened on the 11th of June didn't come out of the blue. Tension grew in the days before. That day she just erupted, killed her children, and attacked Nathan."

Ethan was found dead in a bedroom with a 17cm neck wound, while Elizabeth was discovered in the living room with head trauma and multiple stab wounds, including to her stomach.

Trial judge Mr. Justice Choudhury instructed the jury that their role was to determine whether John committed the acts of unlawfully inflicting injuries and killing Ethan and Elizabeth, as well as injuring Mr. John. He emphasized the need for an objective assessment of the evidence, despite the strong emotions such cases evoke.

The trial continues.