Valdo Calocane: Nottingham killer handed hospital order for death of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates

The man who killed school caretaker Ian Coates and students Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber in a fatal stabbing attack in Nottingham city centre has been handed a hopsital order for his crimes.

Valdo Calocane, 32, “deliberately and mercilessly” killed the trio in the early hours of June 13, 2023, the judge, Mr Justice Turner, told the court. Mr Justice Turner told Calocane: “You committed a series of atrocities in this city which ended the lives of three people. Your sickening crimes both shocked the nation and wrecked the lives of your surviving victims and the families of them all.”

Calocane had previously had his guilty manslaughter plea accepted by prosecutors on the ground of diminished responsibility due to mental illness. He previously pleaded not guilty to murder charges, with his barrister Peter Joyce KC previously telling the court that while the defendant "does not dispute the physical facts of the prosecution’s case”, he was suffering from "extreme" mental illness at the time of the attacks.

Mr Justice Turner said at the sentencing that the psychiatric evidence did not detract from the “horror” and “disastrous” impact his crimes have had on the families of the victims. However, he conceded that Calocane's mental state “significantly contributed" to him carrying out the attack.

The shocking incident saw Ms O'Malley-Kumar and Mr Webber, both 19-years-old, stabbed to death on Ilkeston Road near the city's university campus at around 4am. Around one hour later, Mr Coates, 65, was found dead from knife wounds on Magdala Road. Calocane had also stolen Mr Coates' van and hit three people, who all survived the attack.