LET DOWN
Urgent Nottingham probe launched after families claimed they were ‘railroaded’ into accepting triple killer’s plea
Triple killer detained in high security hospital after murder charge dropped
A PROBE has been launched after the mum of a Nottingham victim claimed families were "railroaded" into accepting lesser charges.
Emma Webber, whose son Barnaby was killed along with Grace O'Malley-Kumar, 19, and Ian Coates, 65, suggested Valdo Calocane had "got away with murder".
4
The paranoid schizophrenic was detained in a high security hospital after prosecutors accepted his plea of manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
Attorney General Victoria Prentis has now ordered an independent review into that decision by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The probe will also look at whether the families of victims were properly consulted before the plea was accepted.
Ms Prentis said: "The senseless deaths of Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates have horrified the country.
Read more on the killing
"While nothing will bring their loved ones back, the families understandably want to understand what happened in this case.
"That’s why I have asked the inspectorate to carry out a prompt and thorough review of CPS actions so we can properly investigate the concerns raised by the families in this devastating case."
The review follows similar investigations launched into the tragedy last summer.
Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire Police have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Most read in The Sun
The Attorney General is also looking at his hospital order under the Unduly Lenient Sentencing Scheme.
Calocane stabbed pals Grace and Barnaby, both 19, to death as they walked home from a night out.
He then knifed school caretaker Ian and stole his van before ploughing into pedestrians.
After he was detained in a high-security prison on Thursday, it emerged there was a litany of missed chances to catch Calocane before he struck.
Questions are now mounting over how he was free to roam the streets and carry out the horrific rampage.
The police, CPS and mental health services are all in the firing line for failing to stop the killer.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has so far failed to announce a public inquiry into the killings.
He today vowed to "get answers", adding: "We've set up investigations, independent ones, into all those areas I mentioned.
"The NHS, the Crown Prosecution Service, the police forces. So, they're all going to be looked at independently so we can get those answers. That's going to happen promptly and thoroughly and effectively, as quickly as possible.
"Once we hear back from that, then we can sit down with them and decide if there are more questions that need answering, is the inquiry then the next logical step?"
A CPS spokesperson said: “We will fully engage with the review.”
READ MORE SUN STORIES
4
4
4
Topics