What happened in the Nottingham attacks?

The mother of one of the Nottingham attack victims has described a report into the care received by Valdo Calocane as a ‘horror show’.

Undated family handout photo issued by Nottinghamshire Police of Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar who were killed by Valdo Calocane in Notingham. The Government is facing calls to overhaul murder laws in the wake of the Nottingham attacks after a watchdog found prosecutors correctly charged triple killer Valdo Calocane but could have handled the case
Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar were killed by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham. (PA)

The families of the Nottingham attack victims say the NHS “washed their hands” of their killer, following the publication of a damning report into his care.

Valdo Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after killing 19-year-old students Barnaby and Grace O’Malley-Kumar and 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates before attempting to kill three other people, in a spate of attacks in Nottingham in June 2023.

An independent mental health homicide report revealed that Calocane was not forced to have long-lasting anti-psychotic medication because he did not like needles. The review said other patients cared for by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust also committed “extremely serious” acts of violence – including stabbings – between 2019 and 2023.

Speaking during a press conference following the publication of the report on Wednesday, Emma Webber, the mother of victim Barnaby Webber, outlined how health professionals were resistant to visiting Calocane.

(left to right) Emma Webber, the mother of Barnaby Webber, Dr Sanjoy Kumar and Dr Sinead O'Malley, the parents of Grace O'Malley-Kumar and James Coates, speaking to the media during a press conference with the families of the victims of the Valdo Calocane, at Doughty Street Chambers, central London. University students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham on June 13 2023. Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order. Picture date
(left to right) Emma Webber, the mother of Barnaby Webber, Dr Sanjoy Kumar and Dr Sinead O'Malley, the parents of Grace O'Malley-Kumar and James Coates, speaking to the media during a press conference with the families of the victims of the Valdo Calocane. (PA)

She said: “This is an individual who we know was so dangerous that whilst he was in receipt of engagement with community teams, the threat was so high that staff members refused to meet with him alone…

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“These staff members tried to raise concerns but they fell on deaf ears higher up the ranks.”

Solicitor Neil Hudgell, acting on behalf of the families of the victims, outlined how NHS staff were “frightened”. He said: “Without the full report, you wouldn’t know today how frightened health professionals were to visit Valdo Calocane, how they withdrew on occasion, how they planned their exits – yet at the same time were willing to discharge him from care.”

The parents of Barnaby Webber, David and Emma Webber, arriving at Nottingham Crown Court where Valdo Calocane will be sentenced for the manslaughter of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Barnaby and Ian Coates, and the attempted murder of three others, in a spate of attacks in Nottingham on June 13 2023. Picture date: Wednesday January 24, 2024.
The parents of Barnaby Webber, David and Emma Webber, arriving at Nottingham Crown Court for Valdo Calocane's sentencing in January 2024. (PA)

He added: “Undoubtedly he was unwell… he was not treatment resistant, he resisted treatment. The NHS washed his hands of him… he was discharged effectively as a ticking time bomb.”

Mrs Webber said the report showed that mental health teams missed opportunities because “they just didn’t do their jobs properly”.

She said: “This report is a horror show, it uncovers failings on an epic level. It leaves us feeling horrified, heartbroken, but even more determined now to make sure that it’s addressed – that the government and the agencies react and listen properly.”

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Investigators found that “the offer of care and treatment available for VC (Valdo Calocane) was not always sufficient to meet his needs” and this was “not unique” to his case.

Mrs Webber has now urged the prime minister to not row back on his promise to hold a statutory public inquiry. She insisted it is “not a witch hunt”, but that “those people in the NHS alone that have failed so catastrophically” and “must be answerable”.

In a statement released after the report’s publication, health secretary Wes Streeting said the report’s findings “will help to support an inquiry into this attack”. He added that it was “clear there were failings in how the care provided to Valdo Calocane was managed at every level”.

Undated handout file photo issued by Nottinghamshire Police of Nottingham triple killer Valdo Calocane whose sentence to an indefinite hospital order will be referred to the Court of Appeal for being
The sentence given to Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane was not 'unduly lenient', the Court of Appeal ruled. (PA)

At about 4am on 13 June 2023, Calocane fatally attacked Webber and O'Malley-Kumar on Ilkeston Road in Radford, Nottingham. The pair were first-year students at the University of Nottingham and had been walking home from a night out before Calocane emerged from the shadows to attack them. Calocane, dressed all in black, inflicted at least 10 stab wounds on Webber and then 23 separate wounds on O'Malley-Kumar.

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At Nottingham Crown Court last January, prosecutor Karim Khalil KC said O’Malley-Kumar had demonstrated “incredible bravery” by trying to protect Webber from Calocane’s blows and tried to fight him off, pushing him away and into the road. The killer then turned his attention to her and was “as uncompromisingly brutal in his assault of Grace as he was in his assault of Barnaby”, Khalil said.

The students both suffered wounds to the chest and abdomen and were later pronounced dead at hospital.

After his attack, Calocane walked slowly through the Radford area to Mapperley Park, ringing his brother at 4.52am to say: “This will be the last time I speak to you. Take the family out of the country." Asked if he was going to do something stupid, Calocane told his brother: “It’s already done.”

At 5.04am, Calocane tried to access a residential building through a window before being punched away by someone inside. He then made his way to nearby Magdala Road, where he fatally stabbed Coates 10 minutes later.

Calocane then stole his van and drove it into people at a bus stop. Footage issued by Nottinghamshire Police showed Calocane deliberately steering towards pedestrian Wayne Birkett, who was hit from behind and suffered two skull fractures and a broken pelvis.

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At about 5.30am, Calocane was tasered by police outside a shop on Bentinck Road and arrested.

In November 2023, Calocane denied three counts of murder but admitted to the manslaughter of his victims on the basis of diminished responsibility. He also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of three others.

His plea was accepted on 23 January this year and two days later he was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order, with a judge telling him he would be detained "very probably for the rest of your life".

Court artist sketch dated 23/01/24 by Elizabeth Cook of Valdo Calocane, 32, appearing at Nottingham Crown Court. Issue date: Thursday January 25, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story COURTS Nottingham. Photo credit should read: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire
A court artist's sketch of Valdo Calocane during an appearance at Nottingham Crown Court. (PA)

It was found that Calocane was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the killings, which the judge said "significantly contributed" to him carrying out the attacks.

The sentencing judge also made Calocane subject to further restrictions if he is ever discharged, which must be approved by the justice secretary.

Following complaints by the victims' families, the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) concluded in March that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were right to accept Calocane's manslaughter pleas, but could have handled the case better.

In May the Court of Appeal in London reviewed the sentencing after a referral by attorney general Victoria Prentis, who said it was "unduly lenient".

The attorney general office’s lawyers argued he should instead receive a life sentence as part of a “hybrid” order, meaning he would be treated in hospital before serving the remainder of his sentence in prison.

However, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Garnham ruled that the sentencing was not too "unduly lenient" and that leave to refer the sentence was refused.

In a statement following the decision, Emma Webber, mother of victim Webber, said: "Today’s outcome proves how utterly flawed and under-resourced the criminal justice system in the UK is. It also illustrates the need for urgent reforms in the UK homicide law.

"In effect, the families now face their own life sentence of ensuring the monster that is Valdo Calocane becomes the next Ian Brady or Fred West and is never released.

Dr Sanjoy Kumar, father of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London on Tuesday. (PA)
Dr Sanjoy Kumar, father of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London on Tuesday. (PA)

“We do not and never will agree that the vicious, calculated and planned attacks carried out were that of an individual who was at zero level of capability.

“We have never disputed that he is mentally unwell; however, he knew what he was doing, he knew that it was wrong; but he did it anyway. There should be an element of punishment for such a heinous act; alongside appropriate treatment."

Speaking outside court, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, father of O’Malley-Kumar, said the outcome was "disappointing but not unexpected".

Prior to winning the general election, Keir Starmer said that if Labour managed to get into power, he would commit to a judge-led inquiry into the Nottingham attacks.

He told LBC: “My resolve is to ensure that we have that inquiry and make sure that that doesn’t happen to anyone else. I’ve had too many examples of victims and family members being let down. We have to improve here."

File photo dated 08/05/24 of a court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane appearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London by video link for a hearing for over whether his sentence is
Court sketch of Valdo Calocane, who had a long history of mental health issues before he murdered three people. (PA)
  • May 2020: Arrested for criminal damage after breaking into a neighbour’s flat, detained under the Mental Health Act for psychosis.

  • July 2020: Family expresses concern about his mental state; Calocane admitted to hospital for the second time after another forced entry into a neighbour’s flat.

  • End of 2020: Described as “compliant with medication”.

  • Early 2021: Regular visits continue; family reports concerns three months before his third hospital admission.

  • August 2021: No longer taking medication, showing no intent to continue treatment. Placed on a waiting list for in-hospital care.

  • September 2021: Assaults police officers during a Mental Health Act assessment, held in seclusion for nine days, then transferred to private hospitals due to lack of local beds.

  • December 2021: Documented as angry and confrontational in a phone call; misses subsequent appointments.

  • January 2022: After fifth missed appointment, considered for discharge from EIP service but traps housemates leading to police involvement. Assessed but not detained, daily crisis team visits arranged.

  • Late January to February 2022: Fourth hospital admission, discharged back to EIP service.

  • Spring 2022: Advised no solo home visits due to history of violence; noted lack of plan to manage medication non-compliance.

  • September 2022: Discharged from EIP service to GP due to engagement issues and team workload pressures. No further contact with mental health services or GP.

  • June 2023: Calocane murders three people.

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