Police contact with Nottingham killer before rampage investigated

AN INVESTIGATION has been launched into Nottinghamshire Police’s contact with Valdo Calocane before he killed 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’malley-kumar’s in a knife rampage by an independent watchdog.

At the time of the attack, a warrant was out for Calocane’s arrest after he assaulted a police officer in the city in 2021.

An IOPC spokesman said that the investigation followed a voluntary referral by the force after it received complaints from the grieving relatives.

The victim’s families have also repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of toxicology tests carried out on the 32-year-old in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. The spokesman added: “The complaints allege there were flaws in the handling of the murder investigation and missed opportunities by police to prevent the deaths.

“Allegations have also been made in respect of the non-execution of an outstanding warrant for Calocane’s arrest prior to the killings, and concerns raised about Nottinghamshire Police’s communication with the families.”

The IOPC previously announced it had launched an investigation into Leicestershire Police in relation to its contact with Calocane.

Six weeks before the killings, officers from the force were called after Calocane assaulted two security guards at a warehouse where he was working. The business reported the incident the same day and Leicestershire Police attended but Calocane was no longer there. Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic, also went on to kill caretaker Ian Coates, 65, in the early hours of June 13 last year.

It comes as a witness to the attack said he still has nightmares about the killing.

The witness called emergency services after being woken by the sound of Webber and O’malley-kumar’s screams and saw the horror unfold from a window in his home. Richard, who chose not to use his real name, told the BBC he heard “blood curdling screams”, adding that he “knew someone was in trouble”.

He said: “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it was absolutely terrifying. Seeing two young people being attacked and stabbed will never leave me.

“It’s something I wish I’d never seen and I wish the situation had never happened. I have been having nightmares since.”