Family's 'disgust' at Nottingham attacks victims being tested for drugs – but their killer was not

The father of a university student who was killed while trying to protect a friend expressed his deep dismay during a public inquiry after learning that the victims of a stabbing attack had their bodies tested for drugs and alcohol, while the assailant was not subjected to the same scrutiny. On 13 June 2023, Valdo Calocane fatally stabbed Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19-year-old students, before murdering Ian Coates and injuring three others. The inquiry revealed that Calocane refused to consent to toxicology tests while in custody following the attacks.

During the proceedings, Grace’s father, Dr. Sanjoy Kumar, voiced his strong condemnation of the decision to conduct post-mortem tests for substances on his daughter and Barnaby. He described the practice as “disgusting,” particularly in contrast to Calocane, from whom no such samples were obtained. The inquiry also uncovered that the medical records of Grace, Barnaby, and Ian had been improperly accessed after their deaths, raising further concerns about respect for the victims’ privacy.

Chaired by retired senior judge Deborah Taylor KC, the Nottingham Inquiry continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attacks, including the roles and responses of various agencies involved afterward. Grace’s parents, Sanjoy and Dr. Sinead O’Malley-Kumar, along with Barnaby’s parents, David and Emma Webber, provided testimony at the hearing held at Mary Ward House in London. Sanjoy recalled being asked by police to sign a “human tissue form” authored for releasing Grace’s body, which he had never encountered before in his professional capacity as a GP and former forensic medical examiner.

Sanjoy explained that the implications of signing the form—allowing tissue sampling for drug and alcohol testing—were not clearly explained. “You had to sign them, but what was not highlighted was that this is a point in time where you are also signing to say samples could be taken,” he said. The parents described their continued efforts to push back against the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and police regarding toxicology testing in the period leading to Calocane’s sentencing to a hospital order in January 2024. Despite their concerns, they later discovered that no samples had been taken from Calocane, apart from his refusal to give blood or urine, prompting Sanjoy to inquire about further tests such as hair analysis.

The inquiry also heard an apology from Nottinghamshire Police for failing to obtain toxicology samples from Calocane but noted that the investigation found no evidence of drug use influencing the attacks. Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020, was evaluated by forensic psychiatrist Professor Nigel Blackwood prior to sentencing. Following these developments, Grace’s mother Sinead requested that Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust confirm whether his medical records had been properly shared, which led to the discovery of inappropriate access to medical records across trusts.

The Webbers shared their anguish over police officers who had exchanged offensive messages about the attacks in a WhatsApp group chat. Emma Webber described how she first learned about the messages indirectly and only received details after Sanjoy had raised the issue with the chief constable. She condemned the messages, which referred to the victims as being “properly butchered,” calling the language “disgusting and grotesque.” Disciplinary action was taken against the officers involved. David Webber criticized the differential treatment between Calocane’s privacy, which was reportedly protected, and the lack of respect shown toward the victims, emphasizing the profound grief and trauma his family continues to endure

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