The father of a Nottingham attack victim has condemned as 'disgusting' the decision to test his daughter for drugs and alcohol after her death, while the perpetrator was not tested. Sanjoy Kumar, whose daughter Grace O'Malley-Kumar was killed alongside Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates in June 2023, told an inquiry he could not understand why Valdo Calocane, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, was not tested for drugs while in custody.
Dr Kumar, a GP and former forensic medical examiner, said he and his wife had to sign human tissue forms they had never encountered before, or their daughter's body would not be released. He stated: 'They took samples from our children to test for drugs and alcohol. I was really struck by that being really quite disgusting.' He added that a hair sample from Calocane 'may have proved nothing but it may have proved everything'.
Retired Nottinghamshire police detective sergeant Leigh Sanders previously apologised for not taking a hair sample from Calocane, but said such a test could not show drug or alcohol use at a specific time. Dr Kumar argued that forensics are crucial in crime detection, and that if Calocane had been arrested before the attacks—he was subject to a warrant for assaulting a police officer—the outcome would have been different.
Barnaby Webber's parents also criticised police conduct, saying officers accessed footage of the attacks and sent WhatsApp messages about their son's injuries. Emma Webber described one message as 'disgusting and grotesque', while David Webber said his son's privacy was not considered. Calocane is detained indefinitely in a high-security hospital after admitting manslaughter and attempted murder on grounds of diminished responsibility.
