Police failed to execute arrest warrant for Calocane months before the killings
Calocane killed three people and attempted to kill three more in June 2023 attacks
Police admitted to 'serious, systemic, operational failure' in handling the case
Calocane was eventually sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after admitting manslaughter
📖 Full Retelling
Nottinghamshire Police and Leicestershire Police failed to execute an arrest warrant for violent schizophrenic Valdo Calocane in September 2022, more than nine months before he went on to kill three people in Nottingham during attacks in June 2023, as an inquiry heard Tuesday 24 February 2026, with the warrant having been issued after Calocane did not attend a court hearing following accusations of assaulting an emergency worker. The 32-year-old killed University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, as well as 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates, and attempted to kill three more people in the rampage that shocked the nation. The inquiry revealed that Calocane had also assaulted two colleagues at a factory in Kegworth, Leicestershire, just a month before the fatal attacks, yet officers still failed to apprehend him despite the outstanding warrant. In a powerful opening statement on behalf of the victims' families, Tim Moloney KC condemned any potential police argument that arresting Calocane earlier would have made no difference, calling such a claim 'cowardly, highly offensive and insulting'. Nottinghamshire Police's representative John Beggs KC admitted the force should have executed the warrant 'in a timely manner' but 'they failed to do so at all', describing it as a 'serious, systemic, operational failure' and offering an 'unreserved apology' to the families. The inquiry also highlighted challenges in dealing with individuals suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, a condition police officers are not specifically trained to manage, with Beggs suggesting that 'society's answers to these public safety risks lie principally not with the police, but with the NHS and other clinical services'. Calocane eventually admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder, receiving an indefinite hospital order in January 2024, while the inquiry is expected to continue until June 2026 with a final report and recommendations scheduled for 2027.
🏷️ Themes
Police Failure, Mental Health Crisis, Systemic Issues, Justice System
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is also characterized by a clinically significant disturbance i...
Warrant authorizing the arrest and detention of an individual
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property.
In the early morning of 13 June 2023, three people were fatally stabbed and three others were injured when a van was driven into them in three connected attacks in Nottingham in the East Midlands of the United Kingdom. At around 04:00 BST, Valdo Calocane fatally stabbed two university students in th...
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Original Source
Police failed to arrest Nottingham triple killer on warrant months before attacks, inquiry hears The arrest warrant was issued more than nine months before the killings in September 2022, after Valdo Calocane did not attend a hearing at Nottingham Magistrates Court after being accused of assaulting an emergency worker. Tuesday 24 February 2026 22:57, UK Why you can trust Sky News Police failed to execute a warrant to arrest a violent schizophrenic before he went on to kill three people in Nottingham, an inquiry has heard. Valdo Calocane killed University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, as well as 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates, and attempted to kill three more people in the June 2023 attacks . The arrest warrant was issued more than nine months before the killings in September 2022, after Calocane did not attend a hearing at Nottingham Magistrates' Court over accusations of assaulting an emergency worker. He went on to assault two colleagues at a factory in Kegworth, Leicestershire, a month before the attacks, but was not arrested by Leicestershire Police at that time. In an opening statement on behalf of the relatives of those killed in the attacks, Tim Moloney KC said any attempt by police to claim arresting Calocane would not have made a difference would be "cowardly, highly offensive and insulting". "If the police do say that executing a warrant for his arrest would have made no difference, then the people of Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire have a lot to worry about in relation to who is keeping them safe," he added. 2:14 Share 'Incompetent management' of Nottingham killer John Beggs KC, representing Nottinghamshire Police in the inquiry, said the force should have executed the warrant in a "timely manner" but "they failed to do so at all". Mr Beggs added: "The temporary deputy chief constable Griffin described that failure in his statement as, I quote, a serious, systemic, operational failure on the part of Nottingh...
