Inquiry told how month before the fatal attacks, Valdo Calocane assaulted two colleagues at a factory in Kegworth, Leicestershire, but was not arrested
A warrant to arrest a violent schizophrenic man before he killed three people in Nottingham was not executed by police for months before the attacks in what was described as a “serious, systemic, operational failure”, an inquiry has heard. Valdo Calocane killed University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, and attempted to kill three more people in June 2023.
The warrant was issued in September 2022, 10 months before the killings, at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court after Calocane, who was accused of assaulting an emergency worker, did not attend the hearing. A month before the fatal attacks, Calocane assaulted two colleagues at a factory in Kegworth, Leicestershire, but he was not arrested by Leicestershire Police at that time.
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In his opening statement on behalf of the relatives of Mr Webber, Miss O’Malley-Kumar and Mr Coates, Tim Moloney KC said that any attempt by police to say arresting Calocane would not have made a difference would be “cowardly, highly offensive and insulting”.
He said: “That warrant was outstanding for 10 months, and Nottinghamshire Police did not execute it for 10 months. They just left him out on the streets.”
Mr Moloney continued: “Any attempt by the police to say arresting him would have made no difference to what was to happen on June 13 2023, sheltering behind some notion that he may not have been convicted and may not have received a custodial sentence, would be cowardly, highly offensive and insulting to the intelligence of the brave families. “If the police do say that executing a warrant for his arrest would have made no difference, then the people of Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire have a lot to worry about in relation to who is keeping them safe.” John Beggs KC, who is representing Nottinghamshire Police in the inquiry, said the force should have executed the warrant in a “timely manner”, adding: “They failed to do so at all.”
Mr Beggs added: “The temporary deputy chief constable (Rob) Griffin described that failure in his statement as, I quote, a serious, systemic, operational failure on the part of Nottinghamshire Police. He recognised the seriousness of what happened, or rather, what didn’t happen, and the distress it caused. He offered, and we repeat, an unreserved apology to the families of the deceased and the survivors.” Mr Beggs asked the chairwoman of the inquiry to consider whether it is realistic that Calocane would have been prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned at that time while he was suffering with mental illness.
He added: “We respectfully suggest not but we understand why the bereaved and survivors are concerned by the failure to execute the warrant, and I repeat, we do not seek to defend that failure.” Mr Moloney told the inquiry that recordings of police calls from the morning of the attacks were “seemingly lost or unavailable”, which he described as “astonishing”.
He added: “The inquiry may consider whether this lack of consistent, contemporary record is reflective of the care with which Nottinghamshire Police approached the events of June 13 2023.” Hugh Davies KC, representing two Leicestershire Police officers who attended the incident at the warehouse weeks before the fatal stabbings, said that an officer did not view records of Calocane’s previous encounters with police and if she had done so, “she would have been able to discover that VC (Valdo Calocane) had an outstanding warrant for his arrest”.
The inquiry also heard that the officer’s body-worn camera footage was mistakenly deleted after the incident.Mr Davies added: “The officers have accepted these shortcomings candidly. On behalf of Leicestershire Police, the chief constable apologises for these shortcomings.”
Barrister Anna Bicarregui told the inquiry that NHS England makes an “unreserved apology” to the survivors and bereaved families. She said: “The NHS and the system as a whole failed you with devastating consequences.”
Ms Bicarregui added: “NHS England is determined to transform how the NHS treats people with a severe mental illness, who often require long-term support.” Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility and attempted murder – something which has been widely criticised by the victims’ families. The chairwoman of the inquiry, who will hear evidence until June this year, will produce a report and provide recommendations in 2027.
