Hudgell Solicitors issues the following statement on behalf of the Coates family, the O’Malley-Kumar family, and the Webber family.
On the 13th of June 2023, our lives changed forever. The brutal, calculated and unprovoked attack by Valdo Calocane took the lives of three innocent, decent and kind human beings: Barney Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates. Three people who made a difference in this world and actively contributed to our society.
This individual carefully planned his assault, stockpiled his weapons in advance and chose his victims. We recognise his previous diagnosis of mental illness, however, we maintain that he knew what he was doing, he knew it was wrong, but he did it anyway. And therefore, he is a murderer.
It is because of a weak investigation and prosecution, over-reliance upon doctors’ evidence and archaic out-of-date laws that Calocane receives no punishment for his heinous acts.
Today we will take time and pause to reflect upon that tragic day and remember the souls of the three vibrant, caring, hard-working and much-loved family members who are no longer here.
Today is not the day for a fight. But tomorrow (14th June) is. We continue in our relentless pursuit of appropriate justice, individual and organisational accountability, lasting change to our society and laws that will provide improved protection and public safety, appropriate punishment for crimes and improved support for victims and their families.
As three families we stand united by grief and loss but fuelled by our anger at the scale of failings, poor policing, weak prosecution, dereliction of duty in medical care and a series of catastrophic missed opportunities that would and should have stopped these entirely preventable deaths.
And with that, we are glad to accept the offer of support from Neil Hudgell of Hudgell Solicitors and Tim Moloney KC, of Doughty Street Chambers, and their legal teams.
We have endured much over the past 12 painful and agonising months in our fight for answers and justice. The pedigree and professionalism of this legal team bolster our conviction that so many wrongs will eventually be righted.
Up until this point we have worked tirelessly as families and now with our legal representatives, we will take our fight for accountability to the next level. With this support, we will ensure the failures of Leicester Police, Nottingham Police and Nottingham Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (amongst others) are exposed and accounted for.
No stone will be left unturned as we continue on our quest for answers, for however long this may take.
Statement from solicitor Neil Hudgell, of Hudgell Solicitors
A catalogue of catastrophic errors across multiple agencies led to the loss of three wonderful lives. Three heartbroken families seek answers, accountability and ultimately reassurance that Calocane never walks the streets again to wreak such devastation.
It is our responsibility to ensure that we do everything we can to help these families establish the truth, effect change and find redress, putting all those agencies who played a part in these tragic events under the most powerful of spotlights.
