A mother searched online for information on overdoses and prison sentences for murder on the day she killed her children, an inquest has heard.

Veronique John carried out the Google and YouTube searches on the morning of 11 June 2023 – just hours before she called police to report that she had killed daughter Elizabeth, seven, and son Ethan, 11.

She was handed an indefinite hospital order last year for the fatal attacks, which took place at the family home in Flax Street, Stoke. An inquest is being held this week at Stoke Civic Centre to investigate the events leading up to the children's deaths.

On Wednesday, the second day of the inquest, coroner Emma Serrano heard evidence from a consultant psychiatrist and consultant forensic psychiatrist on Mrs John's mental state.

Dr Gillian Bennett, who produced a report on the mother, concluded she had not met the threshold of insanity at the time of the killings "because of her behaviour and her admission she had made to the police afterwards".

Dr Bennett said: "It indicated she did understand the nature of the acts and they were wrong. In the course of the interview, she was unable to give an account of what happened."

An assessment carried out after Mrs John was taken in custody concluded that "she doesn't have signs of acute or enduring mental health conditions" and was able to be charged.

"In later months however she was deemed no longer fit to plead, and was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and a personality disorder.

The inquest heard that on the morning of June 11, Mrs John had made Google searches online including "can a foreigner be charged with murder in the UK" and "how long do murderers serve in prison".

Elizabeth, seven, and Ethan, 11, were killed at their Stoke home in June 2023. (Staffordshire Police)

There were also searches for videos on the topic of how long it took to overdose on pills and the inquest heard she had expressed a wish to end her life following the children's deaths – but she was prevented from doing so by the presence of police.

Medical records showed that in previous years Mrs John had been prescribed antidepressants for depression and anxiety.

From 2012 onwards she had experienced a number of traumatic events in her life, including a miscarriage, a stillbirth and the death of her mother, and she had also suffered domestic abuse from a former partner when she had been living in the Caribbean before moving to the UK.

She had been referred to a psychiatrist seven years before the children's deaths, the inquest heard, and said she had attempted to end her life a decade earlier.

In the days after the murders, she said she could not recall what had taken place and her last recollection was of lying in bed with her son and daughter some time that morning.

She said she had not slept for four days beforehand. Mr John had called her earlier in the morning to inform her he would not be returning to live with her and she became distressed.

Mr John reported to police that he had been hit by his wife on June 9. Officers were told she had assaulted him with a wooden bed slat and she had threatened to stab him in his sleep.

Mrs John was arrested at home later that day and taken into custody for questioning, where she admitted she had slapped her husband, but denied making any threats to kill. She was able to return home in the early hours of June 11.

Inspector Bruce Wilkinson told the inquest on Wednesday that Mr John had not wished for his wife to be prosecuted or arrested. He took the decision to issue a community resolution notice, which meant she was able to return to the family home that night.

The inquest is continuing at the Civic Centre in Stoke. (Nub News)

He said he had been unaware at the time of other issues, such as allegations that Mrs John had previously harassed her husband, or that evidence could have been found on his phone.

He had been aware of Mr John's injuries – he was seen by officers to have a swollen forearm and a lump on his forehead on June 10 – and that a wooden bed slat had been used to hit him however.

According to police guidance, a community resolution notice should not have been issued in a domestic violence case involving people who had been in an intimate relationship, the inquest heard.

Inspector Wilkinson said: "In the immediate days I reflected. I realised that I applied that in error – that was the option I took on the day.

"In this case I didn't believe at the time that the threshold for an evidence-led prosecution was met, due to the apparent demeanour of Mr John, the early admission of the offence and the remorse from Mrs John.

"I was trying to find a positive action I could take – I was hoping to demonstrate to Mr John I wanted to listen to him.

"I wanted him to be taken seriously and I wanted him to have the confidence, if he needed us again, to pick up the phone and ring and we would listen.

"I was trying to create a record the incident happened.

"I certainly did not think there was physical risk to the children".

The inquest continues.