Abandoned by society – the 9 missed opportunities that could have saved innocent Barnaby, Grace and Ian from a 'psycho' killer
A KNIFEMAN who slaughtered three innocent people in Nottingham slipped through the net several times before the deadly rampage.
Valdo Calocane, 32, stabbed students Barnaby Webber And Grace O'Malley-Kumarboth 19, and Ian Coates, 65, last summer.
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The triple killer also injured three others when he stole Ian's van and started driving into pedestrians during the horror last summer.
After being held in a maximum security prison jail On Thursday it became apparent that there was a litany of missed opportunities to catch Calocane before he struck.
Questions are now being raised about how he was free to roam the streets and carry out the horrific rampage.
The PoliceCPS and mental health The emergency services are all in the line of fire as they have failed to stop the killer, despite a series of alarm bells ringing.
Barnaby's mother was among those who proclaimed that authorities have “blood on your hands,” while the families of the dead said they had been “abandoned.”
Emma Webber said: “True justice has not been served today. We as a devastated family have been let down by the failings and ineffectiveness of multiple agencies.”
Speaking to The Times at home in Somerset, Emma and her husband have now welcomed a decision by the Attorney General to assess whether Calocane's sentence was too lenient.
Mr Webber said the review by Victoria Prentis, the attorney general, was “the right thing and must happen”.
He added: “If you had children you would do anything to ensure justice was served.”
While James Coates, son of victim Ian Coates, said the killer “got away with murder”.
Rob Griffin, Assistant Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police, has admitted that more could have been done to arrest Calocane, especially as he had been under a warrant for his arrest for nine months.
But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has so far resisted ordering an independent review.
Here are the nine failed chances to stop Calocane before he committed the gruesome killing spree.
May 23, 2020
Calocane first became known to authorities in 2020 when he went to the emergency room because he feared he was having a heart attack.
The killer returned to Nottingham but terrorized the apartment block by kicking in doors.
Calocane was arrested for criminal damage and assessed as psychotic when taken into custody.
It comes when…
Despite this, he was released without charge and almost immediately smashed the door of another apartment.
The criminal was arrested again, but this time sectioned after being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.
July 2020
Calocane tries to break into a stranger's flat again and is taken back to Highbury Hospital.
He had stopped taking his medication at the time, which became a common theme for the killer.
August 2021
a mental health employee visits his home, but Calocane is said to have actively concealed the symptoms of psychosis.
He then avoided contact with the community team and stopped taking his medication again.
Officers obtained a warrant under the Mental Health Act to gain entry to his home, but no action will be taken until next month.
September 2021
The police execute the warrant, but an officer is attacked by Calocane during the search.
A bag of unused medication from February 2021 is found.
Calocane was admitted to inpatient services, but later returned to his old habits and began skipping appointments.
January/February 2022
Police were called to Calocane's home after him attacked a housemate in a row while cleaning.
Pals told how violence broke out when he was an adult Student Calocane snapped when asked to collect the dirty laundry from the apartment.
The clip shows a panicked Chris Young, begging housemates to “call the police” and shouting “Valdo, get off me” while he is in trouble.
Officers arrived on the scene and escorted Calocane away – before university officials insisted he not face charges.
Instead, the killer was offered mental health support to enable him to complete his mechanical engineering studies last summer.
'Gone away with murder' – families react to conviction
Emma Webber, Barnaby Webber's mother, said the Assistant Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police has “blood on his hands”.
In a message addressed to Rob Griffin, the devastated mother said: “If you had just done your job properly, there's a good chance my beautiful boy would still be alive today.”
Emma added: “True justice has not been served today.
“But today our dear son, his dear friend Grace and a wonderfully kind grandfather, Ian, have been stolen from us forever and abandoned by the very system that should have protected them.”
“We as a devastated family have been let down by the shortcomings and ineffectiveness of multiple agencies.
“The CPS did not consult with us as has been reported. Instead we were hurried, rushed and railed.”
She added: “We were shocked. At no point in the previous five and a half months were we given any indication that this might turn into anything other than murder.
'We trusted our system, foolishly as it turns out. We do not dispute that the murderer is mentally unwell and has been so for a number of years.
“However, the premeditated planning, amassing of deadly weapons, hiding in the shadows and the ferocity of the attacks are from an individual who knew exactly what he was doing.
“He knew very well it was wrong, but he did it anyway.”
Meanwhile, Ian Coates' son James Coates said: “This man has made a fool of the system and got away with murder.”
He added: “My heart went out to Grace and Barnaby's family from the very beginning.
“It will continue to go out to them as we all now celebrate an anniversary every June that will never be celebrated.”
Dr. Sanjoy Kumar, Grace O'Malley-Kumar's father, said their family will “never come to terms” with her loss and the manner in which she died.
“She was a gift to us, she was a gift to the country,” he says.
Dr. Kumar says Grace's family never questioned Calocane's diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.
But heartbroken dad said there were 'missed opportunities' to 'distract' [Calocane’s] deadly appeals” that will “replay in our minds forever.”
“We will seek answers to missed opportunities to intervene and prevent this heinous crime,” he said.
July/August 2022
Calocane should have picked up his medication but instead lies and claims he is out of the country.
A mental health team visits his discharge address, but the attacker appears not to live there.
September 2022
A warrant was issued for Calocane's arrest after he failed to show up court for assaulting a police officer.
This order was still in effect nine months later when he carried out the rampage.
May 2023
Calocane manages to get a job in a warehouse in Leicestershire five weeks before the murders, but he attacks two employees.
Attempts were made to tell him that he was being denied entry to the property, but no one could get hold of him.
June 2023
On the morning of the triple murder, Calocane had been under an arrest warrant for nine months.
Despite this, he was free to travel to Nottingham and lurk in the shadows, waiting to pounce on a victim.
Calocane ambushes Barnaby and Grace as they walk home after a night out together, pulling out a dagger and stabbing them both to death.
Barnaby's mother Emma revealed to The Times the heartbreaking moment she couldn't reach her son on his phone and used a tracking app.
Emma said: “Almost at that moment the news broke that the incident had taken place on Ilkeston Road [and] Dave said: “Barney's phone is in Ilkeston Road”.
“My body just went cold.”
He then kills caretaker Ian before stealing his van and running over pedestrians.
At this stage, Calocane “has been off medication for almost 12 months and is no longer in contact with psychiatric services.”
He later claimed that voices in his head were telling him to kill.
'Of course an arrest could have set a route back in mental health services, but as we have seen from his previous encounters with these services, it seems unlikely that he would have been involved in this process.”
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