A KNIFEMAN who slaughtered three people in a grisly knife and gun rampage in Nottingham has today been locked up in hospital.
Valdo Calocane stabbed Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both aged 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates to death.
PAValdo Calocane has been locked up in a high security hospital[/caption]
Grace Kumar was among the three victims
PAShe had attempted to save Barnaby from the killer’s fatal blows[/caption]
Dad Ian Coates was also stabbed to death
He then called his brother and told him: “This will be the last time I speak to you. Take the family out of the country.”
When asked if he was going to do something stupid, Calocane replied: “It is already done”.
Calocane, 32, has now been locked up in Ashworth high-security hospital after pleading guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
This means he will not be released while he continues to pose a risk to the public, which could be for the rest of his life.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Turner said the attack was “frenzied”, adding: “You committed a series of atrocities in this city which ended the lives of three people in this city.
“Your sickening crimes both shocked the nation and wrecked the lives of your surviving victims and the families of them all.
“Your mental health state does not detract from the horror of your actions and the destructive impact it has had.”
One of the sons of victim Ian made an impromptu address before the hearing, which resulted in applause from the public gallery.
Lee Coates said: “No matter what the outcome is our family are here for you from now until whenever.
“I am so sorry that we had had to go through this and this is how we have met.
“If I don’t manage to stay the whole day because I can’t keep my mouth shut, I apologise. But we are in the same boat.”
It emerged yesterday that at the time of the killings he was “unlawfully at large”.
An arrest warrant had been issued in September 2022 when Calocane failed to attend court for assaulting a cop that was still outstanding.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin, from Nottingham Police, admitted: “We should have done more to arrest him”.
It comes as the victims’ families wept as their harrowing final moments were revealed in court for the first time.
They also slammed the “monster” triple killer in powerful victim impact statements as they bravely faced Calocane.
Grace’s dad, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, told the brute he was a “a cold, cowardly and calculating killer”.
He also praised his daughter who “heroically and valiantly fought you. Like a hero she put herself in harm’s way.”
The dad said: “The love of our life has been taken away from us. [The] music from my ears has been taken away. Our landscape has turned from vivid colour to black and white.”
Barnaby’s mum Emma Webber said her son’s life had been “stolen in the most vicious, unprovoked, senseless and evil way imaginable”.
She added: “I have utter rage and pure hatred for you, the murderer that sits before me today.
“I do hope that what remains of your dark soul will feel true remorse for what you have done.”
Her son, Barnaby’s younger brother Charlie, said: “When I first learned what happened I wanted to set the world on fire, I was so angry at everyone.”
While Ian’s son James Coates branded Calocane a “selfish monster who decided to go on a killing spree”.
“To have a life taken so horrifically is something you will never come to terms with”, he added.
Calocane’s rampage began just after 4am on June 13 as Grace and Barnaby walked back to their halls from a night out.
Poignant footage showed the students chatting to each other unaware that the killer was lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce.
Calocane pulled a dagger from his bag and began hacking at Barnaby repeatedly – causing him to suffer “grave injuries”.
As he collapsed to the ground, Grace showed “incredible bravery” by attempting to fight the killer off.
She managed to shove raging Calocane into the road but this caused him to turn his attention to her instead.
Tragically, he was “”as uncompromisingly brutal in his assault of Grace as he was in his assault of Barnaby” and she too fell to the ground.
Witnessed heard an “awful, blood-curdling scream” and saw stricken Grace attempt to crawl towards a row of houses screaming for help.
Brave Barnaby flailed his legs at the triple killer in a desperate bid to stop him but he fled as the pair succumbed to their horrific injuries.
Prosecutor Karim Khalil KC said footage captured the “devastating violence of the attacks” that was “mirrored only by the deliberate and merciless way the defendant acted”.
Calocane was then seen “calmly” walking away as he continued his gruesome spree.
While continuing on his rampage, the killer attempted to gain access to a home through a window but was shoved away by a stunned resident.
Undeterred, Calocane made his way to Magdala Road where he came across caretaker Ian.
After stabbing the dad to death, Calocane stole his van and used it to ram three pedestrians – leaving Sharon Miller, Marcin Gawronski and Wayne Birkett injured.
Wayne suffered “life-changing injuries” including brain damage, while Marcin was left with a number of injuries, including broken ribs.
Sharon Miller still suffers from severe pain, is house bound and “may never return to work”, the court heard.
The bloodbath was finally bought to an end when armed police swooped on a residential street to arrest him.
An officer could be heard yelling “stay where you are, stay where you are” in dramatic footage.
As he points a Taser at the killer, Calocane tries to shield his head.
The footage then shows him being led away in handcuffs by officers after his arrest.
Calocane previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He also admitted attempted murder, with all his pleas accepted by prosecutors – meaning he did not have to stand trial for murder.
The court told Calocane was suffering from “extreme” mental illness at the time.
Calocane came to the UK from Guinea-Bissau with his family in 2007 when he was aged 16.
He grew up in a devout church-going family in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire and was described as “bright and studious”.
He had been receiving treatment from mental health services since 2020, including being treated with anti-psychotic medication.
It is understood his health spiralled during the Covid lockdown and complained of hearing voices telling him he needed to kill people.
Mr Khalil told the court Calocane had been sectioned at least four times before the attack but “actively concealed symptoms of psychosis”.
The killer also refused to take his medication and was admitted to hospital in 2020 after smashing down doors in his block of flats.
On occasion in May 2021, Calocane visited MI5‘s London headquarters to ask them to stop “controlling him”.
The prosecutor said: “There is a photograph taken by their systems at Thames House, saying ‘please arrest me’ – effectively ‘stop controlling me’.”
Calocane also assaulted a police officer during a search of his flat, with the court told there were “missed opportunities” to alter the tragic chain of events.
Nottinghamshire Police’s assistant chief constable Rob Griffin admitted “we should have done more to arrest him”.
But the officer added: “Because of the circumstance prevailing, at the time of the alleged assault, in my opinion it is highly unlikely that he would have received a custodial sentence.
“Of course, an arrest might have triggered a route back into mental health services, but as we have seen from his previous encounters with those services, it seems unlikely that he would have engaged in this process.”
Sky NewsGrace was coming back from a night out when she was attacked[/caption]
CCTV captured her and Barnaby walking to their halls of residence
After stabbing the pair, Calocane calmly walked away
He tried to break into a home but was shoved away by a resident
He knifed dad Ian then stole his white van
The killer used it to plough into pedestrians
Ian WhittakerCalocane had a history of mental health issues[/caption]
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