After the response was labelled as “unacceptable,” a study of how police first handled a mother, Veronique John from Flax Street in Stoke, who subsequently killed her two children has been requested.
At their Stoke house, Veronique John struck her husband, Nathan John, with a piece of wood in June, resulting in her detention.
John, 50, received a community resolution notice and was let to return to the family’s Flax Street address the next day.
Veronique John killed her two children, Ethan and Elizabeth John, at their house just a few hours later, then tried to kill Nathan at a Campbell Road car wash.
She was judged ill to stand trial. Therefore, earlier this month, she was given an indefinite hospital order for the double murder of her two children.
Ethan, 8, had been stabbed over twenty times, and Elizabeth, 7, suffered brain damage from the attack.
Jury told Staffordshire Police that Mother ‘erupted into violence’ and killed her small children; Staffordshire police has now labelled its response into the handling of Veronique John’s original arrest as ‘inappropriate’. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is reviewing the matter.
“Veronique John was detained on suspicion of assault on Saturday, 10 June 2023, a Staffordshire Police spokesman said. The victim neither wanted to lodge a complaint or offer a statement. After being questioned in detention, she was given a vital disposal and released the following day.
“Based on recent police contact with Veronique John, we issued a statutory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct on June 12, 2023. The IOPC instructed on June 16, 2023, that the past police contact should be investigated locally.
After looking at it, our Professional Standards Department concluded that the given service level was unacceptable. As is customary in these situations, we returned a report for the IOPC to examine, which is now under consideration.”
The Staffordshire Police report into the matter has arrived at the IOPC.
An IOPC spokesman said: “Based on their past interaction with Veronique John, Staffordshire Police issued a statutory reference to us on December 12, last year. According to the material given to us, any threat that was reported to the police seemed to be aimed against her husband rather than the children when disclosures were made to them. Given the specifics, it was unclear whether police would have known that the children were actually and immediately at risk.
“After careful assessment, we decided an investigation was required but that it was appropriate for the force to carry out and that, should no conduct be found, the force sending the IOPC their report would provide enough level of oversight.” We are now evaluating the investigation report that Staffordshire Police have just handed us. Our sympathies are with every person this catastrophe has touched.
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