Stoke-on-Trent deaths: More time to quiz suspect after children killed

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-65897731

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Elizabeth and Ethan John were both found unresponsive with significant injuries

Police have been granted more time to question a woman over the deaths of two children in Stoke-on-Trent.

Ethan John, 11, and his sister Elizabeth, seven, were both found unresponsive with significant injuries.

Officers were given more time to quiz the woman, known to the siblings, who was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Police discovered the children when they went to the house in Flax Street after first being called to the stabbing of a man at a car wash nearby.

"Sadly, despite the best efforts of police officers and paramedics, they could not be saved and both died at the scene," said Staffordshire Police.

Both post-mortem examinations will take place on Tuesday, the force said.

The suspect, 49, was arrested in connection with the stabbing and then on suspicion of murder.

The stabbed man, in his 40s, was treated in hospital but has since been discharged.

The children's schools have paid tribute to their pupils, saying Ethan was "wonderful" and Elizabeth was a "ray of sunshine".

The children were found fatally injured at an address on Flax Street

Supt Mark Ward of the force said: "Our thoughts are very much with the friends and family of these two children who tragically lost their lives on Sunday.

"It's an incredibly sad case and I know how raw and painful this is for those close to the children, their school friends, and the wider local community."

Officers appealed to hear from anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage from the area of Flax Street and Campbell Road between 13:30 and 14:30 BST and those in the area at the time.

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