A mother who suspected her husband of having an affair murdered her two children to prevent him from gaining custody of them.
Veronique John, 50, is accused of slashing her son Ethan, 11, over 20 times and causing brain damage to her seven-year-old daughter Elizabeth. She then discovered her husband, Nathan, at a car wash and fatally stabbed him in the stomach.
On June 11, 2017, she reportedly returned to her residence in Stoke-on-Trent, dialed 999, and stated, “I am calling to report I just killed my two kids.”
Judge Mr. Justice Choudhury informed the jury that John has been determined to be “under a disability” and “unable to participate in the trial in any meaningful sense.” Consequently, a trial-of-facts hearing is presently in progress at Nottingham Crown Court. When the police arrived at her residence, John, a charity shop employee, allegedly stated to them, “Shoot me if you have a gun.” I am not a monster; he intended to steal them from me.
She is also accused of later telling interviewing officers, “I didn’t want my husband to get them.”
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It is a matter that I have contemplated for an extended period: just killing myself and the children. I have nothing further to say unless you are threatening to administer the death penalty to me.
‘I did it to safeguard my children, as I adore them. I would prefer to be executed if it is feasible. I am entirely serious.
Prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith stated that John was born on the Caribbean island of St Vincent. She had conducted an online inquiry on the topic of whether a foreigner could be charged with murder in the United Kingdom. just hours before the murder of her children.
A day after she was arrested for assaulting her spouse with a piece of wood, Mr. Grieves-Smith stated that her “rage was boiling just under the surface.”
John and her spouse had encountered significant marital difficulties, as she had expressed her opposition to his acquisition of an internet-enabled phone.
The jury was informed that John became enraged and struck her spouse with a wooden slat while their children were preparing for bed, two days before the attacks.
On June 10, the police apprehended John at her residence and interviewed her under the guise of caution. They ultimately issued her with a community resolution notice. Mr. John filed a complaint with the authorities.
The court was informed that John went to the car wash where her husband had spent the night shortly after 2 p.m. on June 11 and stabbed him in the stomach.
In a subsequent 999 call, Mr. Grieves-Smith recounted the statement made by Mr. John: “My wife just came to the car wash and stabbed me. She said that she had just killed the kids.”
Mr. Grieves-Smith further stated, “The events of June 11th were not unexpected.” The preceding days were marked by an increase in tension. On that day, she spontaneously erupted, killing her children and attacking Nathan.
Elizabeth was discovered in the living room, having sustained head trauma and “three areas of sharp force” injury, including to her stomach. Ethan was pronounced deceased after being found in a bedroom with a 17cm-long neck incision.
The jury was informed that a neighbor heard “high-pitched screaming and crying that lasted for a little while” a few minutes before John proceeded to the car wash.
John, a resident of Flax Street in Stoke, has been charged with two counts of murder, attempted murder, and an alternative count of wounding. However, he has been determined to be incompetent to plead.
The 50-year-old, who is receiving treatment at a secure facility, was not present in the dock to hear the Crown’s opening speech metro.co stated.
“This trial is slightly unusual,” Judge Justice Choudhury informed the jury. The defendant has been determined to be under a disability.
‘She is incapable of engaging in any substantive manner in the trial.
‘Your responsibility is to determine whether the defendant committed the offenses of unlawfully inflicting injuries on and killing Ethan and Elizabeth, which resulted in their deaths, and unlawfully inflicting injuries on Mr. John. ‘
The trial is ongoing.