A coroner has concluded that two children were unlawfully killed at their Stoke home.

Ethan John, 11, and his sister Elizabeth, seven, were fatally stabbed by their mother Veronique John at the Flax Street address on June 11, 2023.

Mrs John was handed an indefinite hospital order last year for the killings. She was subject to a trial of facts in Nottingham Crown Court after being found unfit to plead.

On Thursday (July 31) an inquest into the deaths of Ethan and Elizabeth concluded at Stoke Civic Centre. Their father, Nathan John, was present for all three days of the hearing this week.

Police were called to the family home on July 9 by Mrs John, who said she wanted her husband out of the house, and the children told officers they had heard arguing but not seen altercation taking place. Mr John contacted police later that day to say he has been assaulted by his wife.

Mrs John was arrested and taken into custody on the evening of June 10, where she admitted slapping her husband but denied making any threats to kill him. The incident was dealt with through a community resolution notice and she was able to return home in the early hours of June 11.

Mr John left the home on her return, but that afternoon his wife came to his workplace and stabbed him and said she had killed the children. She called police shortly after 2pm and the found the children at the family home; paramedics also attended, but were unable to save Ethan and Elizabeth, and they were pronounced dead.

Staffordshire Police referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and it was returned for local investigation by the force's Professional Standards Department. The review found service levels in some aspects had been "inadequate", the inquest heard.

Mr John should have been seen within two hours of reporting the alleged assault by his wife on June 9, but officers did not visit him at his workplace until the following day. According to police guidelines, a community resolution notice should not have been issued in a domestic violence case involving people who had been in an intimate relationship.

Inspector Bruce Wilkinson told the inquest this week he later realised he had applied the notice "in error". He explained he had wanted to create a record of the incident and show Mr John that he was being listened to, and give him the confidence to contact police again if he needed to.

It was previously questioned if there had been any gender bias in handling the case. Coroner Emma Serrano said on Thursday she did not find any evidence of gender bias however.

"I have found four officers able to give very good evidence of the decisions they made and the way they made them", she said. "We have had no evidence that the reasons for those decisions was because of the fact Veronique John was a woman, not a man.

"I accept the (community resolution notice) should not have been used. I cannot be satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, if the (community resolution notice) had not been used things would have been different.

"I am satisfied police are in the process of putting in place things that will reduce the risk of this happening in the future. It was completely unpredictable."

Mr John told the inquest: "I honestly believe that no-one could have foreseen what Veronique was going to do to Ethan and Elizabeth. I do not feel that anyone is to blame other than Veronique.

"I am happy that the police have identified issues with the case and that they have implemented learning so no other family will hopefully go through what I have."

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Chief Superintendent Sally Blaiklock from Specialist Crime Command at Staffordshire Police said: "The deaths of Ethan and Elizabeth were truly devastating. Our thoughts remain with Mr John and his family and all those affected by this loss over the last two years.

"Mr John has been supported by our specialist officers and continues to be. We will always strive to make significant progress in improving how we investigate and support all victims and children in domestic abuse cases."