'STOLEN FROM US FOREVER'
Nottingham knife victims’ family slam cops & say killer Valdo Calocane ‘got away with murder’ as missed chances revealed
Harrowing details of the three victims' deaths were revealed in court
THE heartbroken families of three tragic victims killed by the sick Nottingham knifeman have slammed cops as they blasted he "got away with murder".
Valdo Calocane stabbed Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both aged 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates to death in a horrifying rampage.
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Calocane, 32, has now been locked up in Ashworth high-security hospital after pleading guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
This means he will not be released while he continues to pose a risk to the public, which could be for the rest of his life.
But today the families of his victims blasted cops for not acting sooner to take him off the streets.
In a string of missed chances before the horror, Calocane allegedly followed a female student and threatened her. He was then detained after allegedly breaking into a neighbour's flat and threatening the occupants in 2020.
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In 2021, he visited MI5 - asking them to "stop controlling him" - then assaulted cops months later and failed to attend court.
In 2022, he attacked a housemate - just weeks later, attacking another flatmate.
And in June 13, 2023, he unleashed his rampage that claimed the lives of three people.
In an emotional statement outside Nottingham Crown Court, Barnaby's mother, Emma Webber, said the assistant chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police has "blood on his hands".
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In a message directed at Rob Griffin, the devastated mum said: "If you had just done your job properly, there's a very good chance my beautiful boy would be alive today."
Emma added: "True justice has not been served today.
"There is so much more to say and clearly serious questions regarding this case and events leading up to this monster being out in society.
"But for today, our darling son, his dear friend Grace, and a wonderfully kind grandfather, Ian, have been stolen from us for ever and let down by the very system that should have been protecting them.
"The CPS did not consult with us as has been reported. Instead, we have been rushed, hastened and railroaded."
She added: "We were horrified. At no point in the previous five and a half months were we given any indication that this could conclude in anything other than murder.
"We trusted in our system, foolishly as it turns out. We do not dispute that the murderer is mentally unwell and has been for a number of years.
"However, the pre-meditated planning, the collection of lethal weapons, hiding in the shadows and the brutality of attacks are of an individual who knew exactly what he was doing.
"He knew entirely that it was wrong but he did it anyway."
Meanwhile, Ian's son James Coates blasted cops and the "failed" system for the outcome.
He said: "This man has made a mockery of the system and he has got away with murder.
"This man is a killer - murder was the only thing he cared about and he fulfilled this in horrific fashion."
It comes as...
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- Shocking list of six missed chances to catch triple killer have been revealed
He added: "My heart from the very beginning has gone out to the family's of Grace and Barnaby.
"The letter of the law was once considered the most important rule to live and abide by, put upon us to make the country a fair and safer place.
"Now it is just a cautionary tale where the calculated, cold,and brutal killing spree can be reduced down to something that falls in the same sentencing restrictions and guidelines as that of death by dangerous driving."
James echoed Emma's criticism and placed blame on the police, Crown Prosecution Service and the health service for his father's death, saying they failed.
Dr Sanjoy Kumar, the father of Grace O'Malley-Kumar paid tribute to his "gift" of a daughter.
The devastated father said that her family will "never come to terms" with her loss and how she died.
"She was a gift to us, she was a gift to the country," he says.
Dr Kumar says Grace's family have never questioned Calocane's diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.
But the heartbroken father said there were "missed opportunities" to "divert [Calocane's] lethal calls" that will "forever play on our minds".
"We will look for answers regarding missed opportunities to intervene and prevent this horrendous crime," he says.
Nottingham attacks timeline
May 23 2020
Calocane went to hospital believing he was having a heart attack. He was later arrested after causing damage to a door on returning to his flat.
An assessment by psychiatric services under the Mental Health Act 1983 was carried out at a Nottingham custody suite, where it was concluded that Calocane was psychotic but that his risk to others was low.
An hour after he returned to his flat, Calocane "knocked down another door to a different apartment in the block".
He was arrested for criminal damage and after a re-assessment was detained under the Mental Health Act before being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, according to defence barrister Peter Joyce KC.
July 2020
After his release from Highbury Hospital in June 2020, the court heard he was readmitted for a period during July 2020.
August 2021
Prosecutor Mr Khalil told the court that Calocane was believed to have actively concealed symptoms of psychosis during a home visit by a mental health worker.
He then evaded contact with the community team.
Officers obtained a warrant under the Mental Health Act to gain entry to Calocane's property so that an assessment could be conducted.
September 3 2021
Officers executed the warrant. It was during this search that Calocane allegedly assaulted a police officer.
"A bag of unused medication dating from February 2021 was also discovered in the flat," prosecutor Mr Khalil said.
"He was admitted to in-patient services and managed between September and October 2021."
January/February 2022
Calocane was involved in an altercation with a flatmate.
A mental health assessment concluded that he could continue to be treated in the community.
At the end of January, Calocane was again admitted as an inpatient under the Mental Health Act, and discharged on 24 February.
Approximately six months before the attacks, Calocane was living in a multi-occupancy house in Burford Road, Nottingham, where a housemate found him to be "somewhat distant, never speaking unless spoken to and only then giving short responses".
August/September 2022
Calocane was recorded as not being at home following a visit to his discharge address, with a resident saying no one of that name lived there.
A warrant for his arrest for assaulting a police officer was issued again after he failed to attend court in September.
May 2023
Five weeks before he killed three people, Calocane started working in a warehouse in Leicestershire, where he attacked two employees.
Efforts were made to tell him he was not allowed back on the premises, but Calocane did not respond.
June 2023
Calocane had been wanted on a warrant in Nottingham for nine months, for the assault on a police officer that happened back in September 2021, according to defence barrister Mr Joyce.
But he was free to carry out the attacks on 13 June and killed Barnaby Webber, Grace Kumar and Ian Coates.
Assistant Chief Constable Griffin added: "The defendant was never arrested for that warrant which was still outstanding at the point of his arrest in June 2023."
Detective Superintendent Leigh Sanders, who led the investigation, said June 13 last year was "one of the darkest days for our city".
In a statement after Calocane's sentencing, he said the "savage" attacks were "terrifying not only for the victims but also for those who witnessed them".
He added: "It was also a very unnerving day for people living or working in Nottingham, who woke to find large parts of the city cordoned off while we investigated the deeply disturbing events that had unfolded.
Detective Sanders thanked the public for their patience and support on "one of the darkest days for our city".
The killer's sentence means he will not be released while he continues to pose a risk to the public, which could be for the rest of his life.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Turner said the attack was "frenzied", adding: "You committed a series of atrocities in this city which ended the lives of three people in this city.
"Your sickening crimes both shocked the nation and wrecked the lives of your surviving victims and the families of them all."
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After slaughtering the trio, Calocane called his brother and told him: "This will be the last time I speak to you. Take the family out of the country."
When asked if he was going to do something stupid, Calocane replied: "It is already done".
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