SEO HEADLINE: Nottingham Inquiry Reveals Mental Health Failures Before 2023 Triple Killing TWO WORD TEASE: Inquiry Revelations The ongoing Nottingham inquiry has highlighted significant mental health care lapses before Valdo Calocane, 32, fatally stabbed three people and attempted further violence in June 2023. Calocane, who stopped his antipsychotic medication because he believed the government was punishing him for breaching Covid-19 lockdown rules, had been under Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s care for two years.
Voices And Delusions Revealed
Evidence heard from Dr Austin Nwawueze, involved in Calocane’s 2021 care at Victoria House mental health unit in Darlington, showed Calocane was convinced the government was inserting thoughts into his mind and transmitting voices commenting on his actions. He rejected his mental illness diagnosis, interpreting the voices as punishment for breaking lockdown rules, which led to him discontinuing medication.
Warnings Ignored
A consultant psychiatrist had warned Calocane posed a risk of killing someone. Despite this, earlier this year he was discharged from mental health services and referred back to his GP after repeated failure to attend appointments and untraceability, according to Emma Robinson, a team leader at the trust.
Attempts To Deny Illness
Inquiry counsel Lance Baynham questioned whether Calocane’s research into his beliefs reinforced his delusions. Dr Nwawueze confirmed that his research efforts likely stemmed from denial of his illness, describing such claims as symptoms of his unstable mental state.
Tragic Outcomes
Calocane, previously sectioned four times, was admitted to manslaughter and three attempted murder charges. In January 2024, he was detained indefinitely in a high-security hospital after prosecutors accepted his diminished responsibility pleas for the killings of University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65. Following the stabbings, he tried to kill three pedestrians by driving a van at them. The inquiry continues to examine the full circumstances surrounding the failures in care leading up to the tragedy.
