Boy, 11, had self-defence injuries from fatal attack by his mother, jury told

Jurors were told that Veronique John inflicted the wounds on her two children that caused their deaths.

Composite image of a young girl in school uniform and a young boy in a red jumper on a climbing frame

An 11-year-old boy suffered injuries that suggest he tried to defend himself from an attack that left him and his seven-year-old sister dead, a pathologist has told a court.

Jurors were told that Ethan and Elizabeth John were both pronounced dead in their home in Stoke-on-Trent after being found with severe wounds that caused “significant blood loss” on June 11 last year.

Veronique John, their mother, was charged with the murder of both children and a trial is being held at Nottingham Crown Court to determine whether or not she inflicted the fatal injuries.

She was also charged with the attempted murder of her husband Nathan John, and jurors will be asked to say if they are sure she inflicted a stab wound to his stomach.

A street of terraced houses. There are cars parked on the road but it is taped off with police tape. Police cars and police officers are visible in the distance at the bottom of the street — A police cordon on Flax Street after the attack (Stephanie Wareham/PA).

Dr Brett Lockyer, a forensic pathologist, told the court on Friday that Ethan suffered wounds to his hand, including to his palm and between his thumb and index finger, which suggest he tried to defend himself.

He told jurors that the injuries to the boy’s hand “could mean that Ethan tried to grab the blade” in self-defence during the attack.

Jurors heard that Ethan suffered 21 separate knife wounds, including to the head, chest, neck and hands.

The pathologist said a wound to the neck was the cause of death, and that Ethan would have “died soon after” this was inflicted.

His sister Elizabeth also suffered a fatal wound to her neck and had “extensive” bruising on the left side of her face and forehead, the court was told.

She had a stab wound that went “through her stomach” and a traumatic brain injury that was caused by at least one “forceful blow”, the pathologist said.

Dr Lockyer said Elizabeth had also suffered a fractured skull.

Defence barrister Rachel Brand KC called no evidence on behalf of John, 50, who is alleged to have attacked her husband at a car wash and told him she “had just killed the kids”.

In his closing speech to the jury, prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith said of John: “By the time she walked to the car wash she had done something that’s almost too horrific to contemplate.”

Blood from both her children found on John’s clothing proved what she had done, Mr Grieves-Smith alleged, adding: “Her words prove that she did it.

“We say you can be sure that she is responsible for killing her children and attacking Nathan.”

Two bunches of flowers are set against a red brick wall, they are still in the plastic but the buds are opening to show pink and orange flowers — Flowers at the scene on Flax Street (Stephanie Wareham/PA)

Jurors have been told that John, of Flax Street, Stoke, has been ruled unfit to enter a plea.

During legal directions, the trial judge Mr Justice Choudhury told the jury its foreman will be invited to answer “yes” or “no” as to whether the jurors are sure that John unlawfully inflicted injuries which led to death.

The panel will also be required to determine whether John inflicted injuries on her husband.

It is expected that the jury will retire to consider its verdicts on Monday.