Nottingham triple killer broke into flat minutes after being released

Valdo Calocane, responsible for a triple homicide in Nottingham on 13 June 2023, broke into the flat of a woman who later fractured her spine as she tried to escape through a window, a public inquiry has revealed. This incident occurred just 11 minutes after Calocane had been released from custody. The inquiry is examining the events preceding his deadly attacks on Ian Coates, aged 65, and two 19-year-old students, Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, as well as the serious injuries Calocane inflicted on three other individuals.

Back in May 2020, Calocane, then experiencing a psychotic episode, forcibly entered the woman’s flat by kicking in the door, causing her injuries that required surgical intervention involving screws and metalwork to her spine. The woman, who testified anonymously, was not acquainted with Calocane. Police were called to two separate incidents at Brook Court, Radford, Nottingham, on the same day, several hours apart. Initially, Calocane attempted to force his way into a flat under the false belief that his mother was being assaulted inside. He was arrested but subsequently released at 19:18 and had returned to Brook Court, only for the police to be called again at 19:29 following the injury to the woman.

During the inquiry, medical and police personnel discussed Calocane’s mental health history, which had not been formally diagnosed at the time of the break-in. He was detained under the Mental Health Act following the May 2020 incidents and was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in July 2020, prior to the fatal attacks in 2023. Nottinghamshire Police decided against prosecuting Calocane for the break-in, relying on medical advice from Dr. Faizal Seedat, who had assessed Calocane at Highbury Hospital and concluded that he was “not in touch with reality” during the incident. However, the inquiry heard that Dr. Seedat had not been informed of Calocane’s earlier related incident.

Sgt Katie Sparks defended her decision not to pursue charges after the 2020 break-in, explaining she believed further investigation, including interviewing Calocane, would not have influenced the outcome. Reflecting on the case, she acknowledged that more comprehensive follow-up could have been undertaken, but emphasized she made the decision in good faith based on the information available at the time. The inquiry also revealed procedural shortcomings, such as police officers failing to link the two incidents involving Calocane on the force’s digital records and inconsistencies in logging the break-in, which was originally recorded as actual bodily harm but should have been upgraded to grievous bodily harm given the severity of the woman’s injury.

Calocane is currently serving a hospital order after pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted murder. The ongoing Nottingham Inquiry, led by retired Judge Deborah Taylor, expects testimony from over 100 witnesses, including police officers, healthcare workers, and others familiar with Calocane, as it seeks to better understand the lead-up to the tragic events and examine how mental health and criminal justice systems interacted in this case

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