Nottingham Attack Inquiry Reveals Body Kept at Scene for 15 Hours
A public inquiry into the devastating Nottingham attacks has heard shocking details about the handling of the crime scene, including that the body of victim Ian Coates was left at the location for nearly 15 hours after his death. The inquiry, currently being held at Mary Ward House in Central London, is examining the events surrounding the June 2023 attacks that claimed three lives and injured multiple others.
Extended Scene Preservation Raises Questions
Ian Coates, a 65-year-old school caretaker, was fatally stabbed by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane in the early hours of June 13, 2023. This occurred more than an hour after students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, were killed in separate attacks. According to testimony presented to the inquiry, Mr Coates was pronounced dead at 5:52am but his body remained at the crime scene until approximately 8:30pm that evening - a period of nearly 15 hours.
Julian Blake, counsel to the inquiry, questioned Nottinghamshire Police's temporary deputy chief constable Rob Griffin about whether this extended timeframe was unusual. Mr Griffin acknowledged that he had only recently become aware of this detail and stated: "It does seem like a long time. For Ian's family, that's particularly traumatic."
Police Explanation and Family Concerns
Mr Griffin explained that the extended time was attributed to multiple factors including the number of crime scenes being managed simultaneously, the availability of crime scene investigators, and the approach taken by the crime scene coordinator. He emphasized that authorities believed this timeframe was necessary to maximize forensic opportunities, stating: "I have to trust those who say that amount of time was necessary in order to ensure all forensic opportunity was maximised."
However, Tim Moloney KC, representing the bereaved families, revealed additional concerning details. He told the inquiry that for more than two hours after Mr Coates' death, there was no forensic tent erected at the scene, and the victim's body was simply covered with blankets. Mr Moloney directly questioned whether it was truly necessary for Mr Coates to remain at the scene until the entire crime scene investigation was complete.
In response, Mr Griffin admitted limitations in his knowledge of the specific circumstances, saying: "I just don't know the circumstances in sufficient detail. I've not spoken to the crime scene co-ordinator or the crime scene investigator to understand why in this scenario they would have needed that to be the case."
Further Revelations About Police Conduct
The inquiry heard additional troubling information about police handling of the case. It was revealed that police waited months before informing bereaved families that staff had inappropriately viewed images and footage related to the attacks. Mr Griffin disclosed that he became aware in September 2023 that a special constable had viewed attack-related images without any legitimate policing purpose.
Mr Griffin expressed regret about the delay in communicating this misconduct to families, stating: "I regret that between September 20 and December 14 (2023) I missed an opportunity in that period to step into that space and be more intrusive to ensure that information was shared. I thought it had been." He added: "All of that pain, additional pain, that the bereaved families and surviving victims have suffered because of that could have been avoided if I'd have stepped into that space and made sure that it happened. I'm really sorry about that."
Inadequate Investigations into Image Access
The inquiry further learned that despite acknowledging a potentially large number of people who could have accessed material about the attacks, there has been no proactive investigation into which police staff may have improperly viewed such content. When asked by Mr Blake if he considered this lack of investigation odd, Mr Griffin responded: "I think there ought to have been, yes."
Mr Griffin also admitted that police could not be satisfied that no further inappropriate WhatsApp messages were shared about the attacks, even after one officer had already been disciplined for such misconduct. He stated plainly: "I don't think we can be satisfied."
Context of the Nottingham Attacks
The Nottingham attacks represent one of the most tragic incidents in recent British history. After killing Ian Coates, Valdo Calocane stole the victim's van and used it to run over three pedestrians, seriously injuring them. Calocane, now 34, was subsequently sentenced to an indefinite hospital order for his crimes.
The public inquiry continues to examine multiple aspects of the attacks and their aftermath, seeking to provide answers to grieving families and ensure lessons are learned for future investigations. The revelations about crime scene management and police conduct have raised significant questions about procedures and communication during major incident responses.
