Nottingham triple killer Valdo Calocane told doctors he was targeted by ‘malign forces’ and visited MI5’s headquarters to tell them ‘stop controlling me’ two years before he stabbed two students and a caretaker to death, a court heard today.
The graduate engineering student was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia when he ‘deliberately and mercilessly’ stabbed Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates, 65, in the early hours of June 13.
Today it emerged Calocane – who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility – was ‘unlawfully at large’ at the time of the stabbings and wanted on a warrant for assault of an emergency worker.
At his sentencing hearing today, defence barrister Peter Joyce KC said his client had once visited MI5’s London headquarters on May 31, 2021 – around two years before the knife rampage – and asked them to stop ‘controlling him’.
‘That’s not a concoction by him,’ he told Nottingham Crown Court. ‘There is a photograph taken by their systems at Thames House, saying ”please arrest me” – effectively ”stop controlling me”.’
Calocane, 32, has admitted three charges of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Nottingham Crown Court
At his sentencing hearing today, defence barrister Peter Joyce KC said his client had once visited MI5’s London headquarters (pictured) and asked them to stop ‘controlling him’
Barnaby Webber was knifed by Valdo Calocane before he also killed his companion Grace O’Malley-Kumar during a city-wide rampage last summer
Grace was also stabbed to death while walking home in the early hours of June 13 last year
Calocane went on to kill school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, later that same morning
Dr Nigel Blackwood, professor of forensic psychiatry at King’s College London, said Calocane believed he was ‘subject to interference by malign forces’ in the lead-up to the killings.
‘He continued to believe that this was not, in his words, a natural illness, but that he was subject to interference by malign forces,’ the expert witness said. ‘He concealed symptoms from his (mental health) team, he evaded their care and he did not trust them.’
Asked to comment on whether Calocane was still hearing voices due to his illness, Dr Blackwood added: ‘I understand that they have reduced in intensity and frequency… but they are still there.’
The court was also told Calocane believed he was controlled by radio and sonic control, subjects which he studied during his degree course at Nottingham University.
Dr Blackwood told the court that, in discussions, Calocane has noted he carried out a ‘horrific’ crime and was ‘deeply sorry’, but wanted people to know he had been a ‘targeted individual’ by ‘malign forces’ since 2019.
He said the killer has shown a ‘profound lack of awareness’ that he has a serious mental health condition that he will have ‘until his dying day’, whatever treatment is provided to him.
At the time of his attack on Barnaby, Grace and Ian Coates, Calocane was ‘in the grip of a ‘severe psychotic episode’, he told the court.
Dr Blackwood continued: ‘As a result, he has lost sight of others’ humanity and their right to life – he is entirely driven by the psychotic process at the time. The assaults would not have occurred in the absence of his psychosis.’
Despite his paranoid schizophrenia, which caused an ‘abnormality of mental function’, Dr Blackwood said Calocane knew at the time that what he was doing was ‘morally and legally wrong’, which led him to rule out a potential defence of insanity.
He said of Calocane: ‘He has shown a profound lack of insight into the fact that he has an illness.
‘Were he to stop taking medication in prison, there is a significant risk of lethal behaviours returning, whether against prison officers or fellow inmates. That is my significant concern about hybrid orders in this matter.’
Dr Blackwood said, in discussions, Calocane has noted he carried out a ‘horrific’ crime and was ‘deeply sorry’, but wanted people to know he had been a ‘targeted individual’ by ‘malign forces’ since 2019.
Prosecutor Karim Khalil KC said: ‘He said he was deeply sorry for the crime and for the families’ loss of their loved ones. He said, quote ‘they needed justice, without that grief will never heal’.
‘He said he now could not imagine doing such a thing but was keen to ensure people knew he was a targeted individual and suffered torture from technology.’
Dr Blackwood said: ‘Yes, he says he has been interfered with since 2019 and heard voices, both within his head and also as if they are in outside external spaces.’
Mr Khalil said the judge faces a ‘stark choice’ of imposing a ‘hybrid’ life sentence with a hospital direction on Calocane or a hospital order under the Mental Health Act.
He said Calocane, who is currently a patient at the Ashworth high security psychiatric hospital on Merseyside, had been assessed by three experts, who agreed that he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia when he stabbed to death three victims.
Barnaby’s family – including her parents David and Emma (left ) – arrive at Nottingham Crown Court for today’s sentencing hearing
Grace O’Malley-Kumar’s mother, Sinead, (left) and his father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar (middle)
James (centre), Grace’s brother, arrives at Nottingham Crown Court today
Accepting that abnormality of mind contributed to Calocane committing the offences, Mr Khalil told Mr Justice Turner: ‘Although (Calocane’s) responsibility has been diminished it has not been extinguished.
‘The intention of violence on his part appears to have subsisted for a considerable period of time. By the evening of the 12th of June at least, he had already formed the settled intention to kill.’
Mr Khalil said Calocane ‘knew what he was about to do’ as he waited in the shadows to attack Barnaby and Grace.
During submissions about psychiatric evidence being considered by the court, Mr Khalil said: ‘He hid, as we know, in the shadows.
‘What he did was wait in the shadows until the two students walked past, and he followed them from behind.
‘He plainly knew what he was about to do.’
Prior to the fatal stabbing of van driver Ian Coates, Mr Khalil said, Calocane had caused the 65-year-old ‘to come from his vehicle’ to be attacked.
‘It is plain he conducted himself in a purposeful way,’ the Crown’s barrister added. ‘It is clear that his dangerousness is heightened by virtue of his ability to diminish or conceal that which he is actually doing.’
The families of Calocane’s victims have told of the devastation caused by his crimes.
Speaking at Calocane’s sentencing hearing, Barnaby’s brother Charlie hailed his sibling’s bravery and described the shattering impact of his death.
‘When I was younger, he was always the person I went to if I was scared of something or had a tough decision to make,’ he said. ‘When I first learned what happened I wanted to set the world on fire, I was so angry at everyone.
‘He was my hero. He didn’t just die a hero to the world, but he was a hero to me. On June 13 2023, you didn’t just take my brother from me and from those around me, but you also took a large part of me from myself.’
Pictured this morning in Nottingham are Barnaby’s, David and Emma
An undated photograph issued by Nottinghamshire Police of (from left) Grace O’Malley-Kumar, her father Dr Sanjoy Kumar, her mother Sinead and her brother James
Barnaby, second left, with his father David Webber, left, mother Emma and brother Charlie
Ms O’Malley-Kumar’s grief-stricken brother James said today that he has been left ‘completely lost’ without his sister, adding that he confided in her about everything.
He told Sky News: ‘I haven’t had my best friend to go to. I haven’t had an older sister to call.
‘She hasn’t been there to pick up the phone to me and all I can do now is take comfort in the slightest thing – I sleep with her university hockey top on my pillow and I wear her clothes.
Meanwhile, her heartbroken parents said they thought her phone had just run out of battery when they tried getting in touch with her after hearing of a terrorist attack in Nottingham.
Her father Dr Sanjoy Kumar told BBC Breakfast: ‘I was at work and Sinead texted me when she first heard the news in the morning.
‘Immediately, just being a dad, I rang Grace’s phone. I remember I rang it at least eight times and it just rang out.’
Grace’s heartbroken parents – seen on BBC Breakfast today – said they thought her phone had just run out of battery when they tried getting in touch with her after hearing of a terrorist attack in Nottingham
Breaking down in tears, Grace’s mother Sinead said: ‘We thought nothing of it, maybe her phone had run out of battery’
Breaking down in tears, Grace’s mother Sinead added: ‘We thought nothing of it, maybe her phone had run out of battery. We really didn’t believe it for a moment that it could have been – it said a man and a woman and we thought these are just kids.’
During the emotional interview, Dr Kumar said: ‘The fact that I will not see her graduate, the fact that I will not see her marry, the fact that I will not see grandchildren, is brutal.’
He added: ‘She was the best. She was the glue that held the family together.’
Sinead said: ‘I miss her so much. She was my little friend, she was my pet, I’m literally dizzy with grief, and it’s the same every day.
‘She was a beautiful child. We were incredibly proud of her. She was such a great athlete, she was a cricketer, hockey player, and she had so much fun doing that. She was such a lovely girl.’
Grace’s little brother James also broke down in tears, adding: ‘She was the best to me. Since everything’s happened in June I’ve been completely lost without her. I’ve not just lost my older sister but a best friend – someone I’d go to about everything.
‘I’d call her if there were any problems I had, any concerns, she was the first person I’d go to. Because it was Grace she’d come back with the best advice.’
Grace’s father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, told Good Morning Britain that he should not be ‘able to walk around in society’
Grace’s teenage brother James added that the killer had ‘ruined the rest of my life’
But Grace’s father Dr Kumar slammed the decision not to put the killer on trial for murder and said: ‘Justice has not been done.’
He told ITV that he should not be ‘able to walk around in society. You can’t have someone like this who is around children, around the elderly, around vulnerable people.’
Grace’s brother James added: ‘Someone who has ruined families, ultimately. To be honest it has ruined the rest of my life.’
It comes after it was revealed a litany of missed chances left Calocane free to roam the city before he knifed three people to death and tried to kill three more.
The triple killer had been in and out of a mental health hospital for more than three years and a warrant was out for his arrest when his killing spree brought terror to Nottingham.
The NHS, police, university officials and even his employer missed at least eight opportunities to deal with him before he ‘brutally and mercilessly’ killed university students Barnaby and Grace.
A court heard he then ‘calmly’ walked across the city to kill school caretaker Mr Coates, 65, as he travelled to work.
Flatmates described Calocane as a ‘ticking timebomb’ and nicknamed him ‘serial killer’ due to the loner’s unstable nature.
As a court accepted his guilty plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility yesterday, it emerged his disturbing behaviour had seen him sectioned at least four times. Yet he was continually released into the community – where he stopped taking his medication and posed an increasing danger.
Calocane had also been wanted by police, for attacking an officer, for almost a year by the time of the killings last June.
One woman was so terrified after being followed into her university accommodation she jumped out a window to escape. She was badly injured and needed surgery, while Calocane was eventually sectioned.
The woman’s mother was said to be so concerned she is believed to have contacted Nottingham University about Calocane, but he was allowed to continue his mechanical engineering studies.
Another incident saw Calocane assault and then trap a flatmate in their kitchen in a row over a dirty shower. It was last night claimed the university had urged police not to charge Calocane over the matter, and he was moved out of the accommodation.
Grace’s family said they were ‘immensely proud of her bravery’ as she tried to save her friend in the attack
The university declined to comment on the ongoing case.
It is also understood he attacked two colleagues at the warehouse where he worked, and was banned from the premises. Calocane’s defence barrister, Peter Joyce, KC, said his client had been taken to mental health facilities by police several times due to his ‘bizarre, dangerous behaviour’, adding: ‘He ought to have been under the eye of mental health services.’
Calocane was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia three years before his rampage, which also saw him mow down three pedestrians with a van he stole from Mr Coates.
In heartbreaking victim impact statements, relatives of the three victims broke off to address the defendant directly as he sat in the dock at Nottingham Crown Court.
One of Mr Coates’s sons, James, branded Calocane a ‘selfish monster’, and told him: ‘You claim voices told you to kill people. Now listen to me – kill yourself.’
Police previously released this CCTV image showing Calocane
Hockey team mates of victim Grace O’Malley Kumar lay flowers in her memory during a vigil at the University of Nottingham
Rippled applause broke out in the court room at his words.
Earlier, the judge had to call for a pause as prosecutor Karim Khalil, KC, struggled to contain his emotions as he outlined the severity of the attack on Grace and Barnaby. The court heard that after Calocane spotted them walking along a road, the killer took a dagger out of his bag and followed them.
Mr Khalil said the ‘devastating violence’ was captured on CCTV, and described how Grace showed ‘incredible bravery’ to try to fight Calocane off Barnaby, before he ‘turned his attention to her’.
Both collapsed on the ground before Calocane ‘calmly walked away’, the court heard. During the two-minute attack, residents were alerted by Grace’s screams.
The court heard Grace had stab wounds to 23 areas of her body, while Barnaby had been knifed in around ten areas of his body. Both died from stab wounds.
Calocane was later caught on camera trying to break in through a window at a homeless hostel, a mile-and-a-half away.
Barnaby’s father David embraces Grace’s mother at the vigil at the University of Nottingham
Resident Trevor Proverb, 59, told how he fended Calocane off with a ‘right-hook’ after he jumped on to the window ledge.
Mr Coates was then fatally stabbed nearby – just five months short of his retirement – before his car was used to mow down Wayne Birkett, Marcin Gawronski and Sharon Miller.
Calocane was stopped in the van soon afterwards and arrested.
The sentencing hearing continues.