Nottingham triple killer Valdo Calocane to stay in secure hospital despite victims' families campaign, judges rule
14 May 2024, 10:19 | Updated: 14 May 2024, 10:50
Nottingham triple killer Valdo Calocane was not given an unduly lenient sentence, judges have ruled.
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The Court of Appeal has refused to change Calocane's indefinite hospital order for the manslaughter of three people in Nottingham last year.
Families of Calocane's three victims have argued he received an "unduly lenient" sentence.
In January, Calocane, 32, was sentenced after pleading guilty to the manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility of Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates, and the attempted murder of three others.
Judges concluded there was "no error" in the sentence given by Mr Justice Turner at Nottingham Crown Court in January.
Delivering the Court of Appeal's ruling today, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said: "It is impossible to read of the circumstances of this offending without the greatest possible sympathy for the victims of these terrible attacks, and their family and friends.
"The victim impact statements paint a graphic picture of the appalling effects of the offender's conduct.
"Had the offender not suffered the mental condition that he did, the sentencing judge would doubtless have been considering a whole life term.
"But neither the judge nor this court can ignore the medical evidence as to the offender's condition which led to these dreadful events or the threat to public safety which the offender continues to pose."
She said Calocane was in the "grips of a severe psychotic episode" at the time of the attacks.
Judges said that a "reasonable conclusion" of the aim of protecting the public would be best served by a hospital order.
Emma Webber, mother of victim Barnaby Webber, said: "Today's ruling comes as no surprise to the families of the Nottingham attack victims. It was inevitable and was not a review of anything other than the letter of the law as it stands.
"Despite the fact that the Attorney General herself feels that Valdo Calocane did not receive the appropriate sentence, today's outcome proves how utterly flawed and under-resourced the criminal justice system in the UK is. It also illustrates the need for urgent reforms in the UK homicide law.
"The fact remains, despite the words of the judge, that almost 90% of people serving hospital orders are out within 10 years and 98% within 20 years. In effect, the families now face their own life sentence of ensuring the monster that is Valdo Calocane becomes the next Ian Brady or Fred West and is never released.
"Given the failed investigation carried out by Nottingham Police, the weak prosecution put forward by East Midlands CPS and the over-reliance on doctors' reports, there was probably no other conclusion that could be made.
"The families have raised their concerns already with the Government with regard to obvious errors and omissions that have resulted in this tragedy."
Paranoid schizophrenic Calocane was given an indefinite hospital order in late January after pleading guilty to manslaughter for the killings of Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates last June.
Victoria Prentis, the attorney general, asked the courts to decide if Calocane should be sent to prison if he were ever discharged from his psychiatric hospital.
Calocane, 32, was originally charged with murder after killing the trio in a knife rampage on the morning of June 13. He also pleaded guilty to attempted murder after running over three people in a van that he had stolen from Mr Coates.
But his charge was later downgraded to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility because of his mental illness.
The families of Nottingham attack victims welcomed the sentence's referral to the Court of Appeal.
They said in a joint statement in February this year: "We were very glad to hear that the Attorney General has agreed with us that the sentencing given to Valdo Calocane, who so viciously and calculatedly killed our loved ones was wrong.
"We are optimistic that when this reaches the Royal Courts of Justice for its appeal there will be an outcome that provides some of the appropriate justice that we have been calling for.
"It is important to remember that this is just one part of the tragic failures in this case. The investigation into the mental health trust, the CPS and the Nottingham and Leicestershire Police still continue.
"We maintain that there are serious failures in all three agencies that must be fully addressed. Organisational and individual accountability must be taken and where relevant, proper change made."
The families had earlier criticised prosecutors for the lesser charge, saying they had felt rushed into accepting it.
Calocane killed Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar as they walked back to accommodation in Nottingham early on June 13.
He hacked Barnaby to death and Grace was killed as she bravely tried to intervene to save her friend.
Calocane tried to break into a homelessness hostel afterwards, but was fought off, so he instead killed Ian Coates, a school caretaker, and stole his van.
He drove into three pedestrians, all of whom were lucky to survive, before being boxed in by police and Tasered.
Calocane heard voices that he believed controlled him, and he even went to MI5 in London thinking the domestic spy agency could stop them.
He believed the voices were real and stopped taking his medication some time ahead of the attack. He does not believe he is mentally ill.
