Nottingham Attacks Statutory Public Inquiry

May

24th May: Calocane presented himself to A&E, believing he was having a heart attack (a matter not referenced within investigation reports).

He went home and tried breaking down the door of his neighbour’s flat. He was apprehended by the police.

It was concluded by psychiatric services, who assessed Calocane in custody, that he was suffering with first episode psychosis, but that he was a low risk to others; despite him reporting that he was hearing voices which were telling him his mum was being raped in the apartment next door. The conclusion was that he should be referred to a Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team (crisis team) for review at his home.

One hour after being released without charge, he forced entry into another neighbour’s flat. The occupant was so frightened that she jumped from a first-floor window, fracturing her spine and requiring hospital treatment. Calocane was arrested for a second time. He was then re-assessed and detained under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act.

25th May: Calocane was admitted to psychiatric services at Highbury Hospital.

June

17th June: Calocane was discharged back into the community under the supervision of the crisis team. He agreed to take medication for 6-9 months.

30th June: Calocane’s care was transferred to the Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) team, where voluntary engagement is expected. By this time records indicated that he had stopped taking his medication because it was impacting his ability to study.

July

11th July: The Calocane family contacted the EIP team with concerns about his mental health. These concerns were recorded, but no contact with Calocane was attempted.

14th July: Calocane forced his way into a third flat in his apartment block. Police were called but he was not charged. This incident resulted in Calocane’s second detention. He had stopped taking his medication. He was re-admitted to hospital under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act, which allowed treatment for up to six months.

His consultant psychiatrist noted that he displayed no insight or remorse and that there was a risk that he would kill someone.

31st July: Calocane was discharged from the hospital to the care of the crisis team after only 17 days. By the time of his discharge, his medication had been recommenced and increased and he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

August

15th August: Calocane’s care was transferred back to the EIP team.

October

9th and 24th October: Calocane’s family contacted the care provider on two occasions. This contact was followed up on by the EIP team. It appeared that he was not taking his medication. Despite this, he remained in the community.

November

Calocane admitted that he continued to hear voices, but he lacked insight that this was the result of mental illness.

Despite this, he again remained in the community.

May

29th May: Calocane’s family recognised that his mental health was deteriorating and contacted mental health services. Calocane was assessed by phone but not considered to require hospital admission.

August

19th August: EIP staff noted that Calocane’s condition was deteriorating and noted an increasing lack of engagement from Calocane.

Calocane admitted to medics during a home visit that he had stopped taking his medication. He did not believe that he was psychotic, but he thought that staff had created technology to cause his voice experiences and to monitor him. This was noted to be part of a complex delusional belief system.

He then evaded contact with the community mental health team.

September

3rd September: Police were requested to support mental health services and Calocane was taken to a place of safety under Section 135 of the Mental Health Act for assessment. He was subsequently detained under Section 2.

It has been reported that staff found 8 months’ worth of unused medication stockpiled in Calocane’s home, but investigations so far, have failed to comment on this.

During this interaction with police, he assaulted a police officer. Police required the use of a taser to restrain Calocane.

Calocane remained in seclusion in a suite under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act, while a suitable inpatient bed became available.

11th September: Calocane’s was admitted to hospital for the third time. He was sent to an out-of-area private hospital provider under Section 2. This hospital was under special measures and was rated inadequate at the time.

During this admission, Calocane’s Section 2 was converted to a Section 3. This is the second time that Section 3 was used, once again allowing for detention and treatment for up to six months.

October

1st October: Calocane was moved to another private hospital in the Nottingham area, under Section 3 as part of step-down care. He remained on an acute ward throughout his stay, but spent much of his time in his room alone.

22nd October: Calocane was discharged back into the community under the voluntary care of the EIP team.

His family expressed dissatisfaction to the EIP team that they had not been informed that he was being discharged. The discharge happened on a Friday, with no crisis team plan arranged, leaving Calocane unmonitored for the weekend.

An attempt was made to refer Calocane to the crisis team but they were unable to accept him, due to capacity with an influx in GP referrals over the weekend.

January

18th January: Calocane was detained at a place of safety following an assault on his flatmate. By this point, he had missed 5 appointments with the community team, who had considered discharging him as a result.

19th January: Calocane was assessed for detention under the Mental Health Act but he was not detained. The assessing doctor considered that Calocane could be managed by the crisis team and was not detainable, despite concerns that he was not taking his medication.

28th January: Calocane was admitted to hospital for the fourth time, under Section 2, due to lack of concordance with the crisis team.

During this admission, his community nurse advocated for long-lasting intra-muscular injections (depot medication) due to non-compliance with medication and missed appointments whilst under the care of the community team. However, Calocane did not want intramuscular medication, so his consultant neither mandated nor facilitated this.

February

24th February: Calocane was discharged from the hospital back to the voluntary care of the EIP team. His engagement with the community team deteriorated further from this point onwards.

April

26^th April: Calocane’s former flatmate reported that they were being stalked by him after seeing him in the gym.

28th April: Calocane’s care was transferred from a long-standing care coordinator to two community psychiatric nurses due to concerns about the risk he posed. Thereafter, he attended the community service intermittently to collect his medication, though he avoided engagement with staff and was noted to appear unkempt and suspicious-looking.

May

31^st May: Calocane travelled to London and attempted to hand himself in to MI5 at their Thames House HQ. He believed MI5 were controlling him and urged them to “please arrest me”.

July

18^th July: Calocane reported that he was not in the country when staff tried to provide him with his medication. This was confirmed to be untrue by his mother.

At around the same time, Calocane’s former flatmate reported being stalked by him again – it is reported that police officially logged the incident as stalking.  However, it is not clear whether this incident was ever followed up.

September

22nd September: Calocane was due to appear in Nottingham Magistrates Court, more than a year after the assault of the police officer but, he failed to show up for court and a warrant for his arrest was issued. At no point did police execute this warrant, despite further involvement with Calocane.

23rd September: Calocane was discharged back to his GP due to non-engagement. No further records of engagement with health services are noted. By this time, Calocane had not been seen by mental health services since 4th July 2022.

In 2022, Calocane changed his name to Adam Mendes and graduated with a 2.1 degree in mechanical engineering.

May

5th May: After 4 days of working at Arvato Supply Chain near the East Midlands Airport – he allegedly attacked two colleagues.

Police attended the incident, but failed to apprehend him. The warrant for his arrest was outstanding at this time.

In June, he called the warehouse asking that all data relating to him be wiped.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating this matter under Operation Penhallow. However, the families are not permitted to speak about the preliminary findings.

June

12^th June: Valdo Calocane had spent some time with his friends in London, as he had been evicted from his property.

In the evening, he made his way back to Nottingham, despite his recent eviction.

He called his brother at 7:09 pm stating:

This is the last time I will talk to you. After this I will leave you alone… disassociate yourself from me. If anything happens don’t come and see me in hospital.

The call lasted 44 minutes.

He can then be seen on CCTV taking the train from St Pancras Station between 8:15 pm and 9:30 pm.  He travelled to Nottingham by train after making a purchase from M&S and buying a train ticket to his desired destination.

The train arrived in Nottingham at 11:25 pm – Calocane stayed on the platform for 40 minutes. He engaged with staff in the station and then boarded the tram at 12:05 am on 13th June.

The tram was busy and Valdo Calocane was surrounded by people, including a group of students. He exercised self-control whilst on the tram, despite having possession of multiple weapons in his possession.

13th June: When Calocane disembarked from the tram, he walked around for several hours. He withdrew money from a cash machine at 1:33 am.

There is then a 40-minute gap in CCTV footage before Calocane was seen again. By this time, he had changed into a black outfit and had disposed of his Slazenger bag (this was not retrieved by the police); however, he kept a backpack that was filled with weapons.

During this period, he repeatedly turned his phone on and off and switched sim cards. Just prior to the attacks, CCTV shows that Valdo Calocane was hiding in a dark shadowed area.

At around 4:00 am, Calocane fatally stabbed Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar O’Malley on Ilkeston Road, Radford Nottingham as they were walking back to their student accommodation following a night out to celebrate the end of their first-year exams. Barnaby was attacked first but when Grace stepped in to save him, she was also attacked by Calocane. The police received a request to attend at 4:04 am and arrive on the scene at 4:08 am.

He then calmly left the scene after retrieving his bag.

After the attacks, he switched his phone back on and called his brother at 4:52 am. He told him he had “done something” and that he should get their family out of the country. He then sent him an email of files to provide insight into his delusional beliefs. At 5:06 am, he tried to claim through a window at Seely Hirst House. He then interacted with a security guard, who was in possession of keys to the building. Calocane did not attempt to cause the security guard any harm, despite claiming that his voices told him he had to enter the building to carry out the attacks.

At around 5:14 am, Calocane then fatally stabbed Ian Coates, a 65-year-old male who was alone and vulnerable. He made off with his van. He drove calmly, slowing down for speed bumps. He then targeted 3 further victims by running them over, causing serious injury.

When police approached him, he reached for his knife and had to be tasered.

By the time he was arrested, he had disposed of his holdall bag, which police did not recover.

The week after the Attacks:

Calocane was in custody for more than 3 days.

No mental health concerns were raised and extensions to his period of detention were granted. He was deemed to be fit for interview and provided no comment throughout.

Toxicology samples were not obtained so Calocane’s drug use has remained undetermined, despite multiple claims that he was a drug user. This was later challenged by the families and the police suggested that Calocane was not a drug user on the basis that he said he was not a drug user, he had no drug paraphernalia in his rucksack and no drugs were found at his last known address (which he had been evicted from).

When he appeared at court, he was remanded in prison custody.

When police spoke with his flatmates, they explained that he used a dual sim card phone with multiple sim cards. The use of whetstone was also discussed, and he was found to have purchased this and knife-sharpening materials on Amazon.

17th June: The three sons of Ian Coates, were assigned a Family Liaison Officer, four days after the attacks. The other families were provided with FLO support much sooner.

The police failed to engage adequately with the Coates family. They did not receive invitations to multiple key meetings and they did not receive notification of a vigil taking place in memory of the victims.

September

Calocane recommenced mediation in prison, having remained unmedicated for around three months.

November

1st November: Calocane was transferred to Ashworth High Secure Hospital, after almost five months in a prison setting.

14th November: Calocane was assessed by the prosecution’s expert witness, consultant forensic psychiatrist, Dr Nigel Blackwood who was influential in the sentencing decision.

December

20th December: The families received notification that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) would be accepting pleas of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, due to Calocane’s treatment-resistant schizophrenia.

The families raised serious concerns both prior to and following the decision. A meeting was convened but the outcome remained unchanged.

January

25th January: Calocane was sentenced to a Hospital Order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act leading to him being indefinitely detained at Ashworth High Secure Hospital. The Judge further ordered that he be subject to the special restrictions set out in Section 41 of the Mental Health Act.

30th January: The families received confirmation that Nottinghamshire police had referred themselves to the IOPC due to previous contact with him.

The IOPC continue to investigate this matter as part of Operation Astwell. The families have faced significant difficulties during this investigation, with investigators resistant to examining some of their key concerns.

Just days after the referral, Dr Kumar, Grace’s father, had to address the fact that Nottinghamshire police issued a statement claiming that they ‘could not have done any more.’

February

20th February: The families received the news that the Attorney General would be referring the case to the Court of Appeal. This followed significant public concern surrounding the unduly lenient sentence given to Calocane.

In February 2024, the families were informed of various misconduct matters in relation to Nottinghamshire Police.

It materialised that, in August 2023, a Special Constable viewed body-worn video footage of Barnaby and Grace being treated by medics on his laptop. He had nothing to do with the case and had no reason to do so.

He was later dismissed at a behind-closed-doors accelerated misconduct hearing
An investigation found that 179 officers accessed material and of those, 22 were identified as possibly accessing this without a proper policing purpose.

The families were also informed of misconduct proceedings in relation to the Force WhatsApp group, where officers shared cruel and hurtful messages about the victims. This was also shared externally with Police Constable Matt Gell’s family and friends. The families asked questions of Chief Constable Meynell with regards to the other officers in the group, but she refused to provide this information. It is reported that her son was a member of the WhatsApp group.

A member of the public provided them with much of the information in relation to these incidents. The families were not informed of the misconduct meetings until after they had concluded.

The conduct of the Chief Constable is now being investigated by the IOPC as part of Operation Copthorne.

22nd February: Chief Constable Meynell held a non-reportable media briefing in which attendees from the press were required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Mrs Webber contacted the Chief Constable’s office when she was made aware of this and was reassured that the police were not discussing any matters with the press that the families were unaware of. However, it later materialised that they had informed the press about incidents of stalking that the families were unaware of.

Nottinghamshire Police also made 19 complaints to the Independent Press Standards Organisation about the conduct of the press, which were not upheld.

Following this, the matter was referred to the IOPC and is now investigated as part of Operation Longdale.

May

14th May: Calocane’s sentence was upheld.

August

12th August: Panorama aired their documentary ‘The Nottingham Attacks: A Search for Answers.’ This was made in conjunction with the perpetrator’s family, who made his medical records available to the public as part of the documentary. The victim’s families were unaware of the content of these records. The families of the victims were not consulted by the Panorama team but were merely informed. They were denied advance viewing and denied a disclaimer acknowledging their lack of involvement. They were also misquoted within the documentary.

December

The families were made aware of further data breaches from staff at HM Courts and Tribunals Service and HM Prison and Probation Service. This involved staff wrongly accessing information relating to the case. The families have been given very limited understanding as to the nature of such breaches.

February

5th February: In response to a report commissioned by NHS England, Hudgell Solicitors and the victims’ families call for a Statutory Public Inquiry into the failings of different organisations responsible for: the treatment and care of Valdo Calocane, managing the risk of Calocane to the public, and protecting the general public from Calocane.

12th February: After a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and other members of the government, the families were promised a Statutory Public Inquiry to bring about the changes needed to keep the public safe.

In a meeting at 10 Downing Street, the families of students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19 and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, said Sir Keir Starmer apologised to them for being made to ‘fight every step of the way’ for the Inquiry to be confirmed.