Partner of Nottingham Victim Misinformed About Death in Police Blunder
The partner of a caretaker killed during the Nottingham massacre has told a public inquiry that police liaison officers initially gave her incorrect information, stating he had died in a car crash rather than revealing he was fatally stabbed. Elaine Newton described the experience as feeling like Ian Coates, 65, had died twice after receiving what she called the "wrong information" on June 13, 2023.
Five-Hour Wait for Truth
Ms. Newton testified that it took approximately five hours before officers, who appeared "shocked" by the earlier mistake, corrected their statement and informed her that Mr. Coates had actually been stabbed by Valdo Calocane. The schizophrenic student had already killed undergraduates Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both aged 19, before attacking Mr. Coates and then using the caretaker's van to run over pedestrians in Nottingham city centre.
"I said, 'He's at work, it's not Ian'. They said, 'No, it's a Road Traffic Accident'. I said, 'Did he crash into anyone? What happened?'" Ms. Newton recalled during her emotional testimony. "They said 'We can't tell you'. I said, 'Is anyone else hurt?' and they said, 'We can't tell you'. That's all they were telling me for about five hours."
Police Communication Failures
Two young police officers, one male and one female, spent the morning with Ms. Newton after she was initially told about Mr. Coates's death, but neither could provide further details about what had occurred. The female officer repeatedly went outside to speak with someone, returning only to say there was no information available.
"She kept saying there's no information, there's no information. She couldn't tell me anything for all those hours," Ms. Newton told the inquiry. When police liaison officers later asked her to recount what she knew, she explained she believed Mr. Coates had been in a road traffic accident.
"They looked shocked on their faces and said, 'You've got the wrong information, you've been told the wrong information. Ian's been killed and he's been stabbed'. That's how I learned," she testified. "The first information, I accepted, but the second I couldn't accept. You don't know which one was true, or have they got the wrong person. It felt like he had been killed twice. It wasn't right."
Inquiry into Systemic Failures
The public inquiry in London is investigating how Calocane, who had a documented history of violence and mental health issues, was allowed to carry out the three killings. Ms. Newton testified alongside Mr. Coates's sons, James and Lee, revealing she only learned about Calocane's previous incidents with police during the inquiry process itself.
"I was never told any information about his past... The first time was this hearing, I didn't know anything about any of this at all," she said. The inquiry heard that Calocane had been arrested by Nottinghamshire Police in May 2020 for hammering down neighbours' doors, with one woman jumping from a first-floor window to escape him. However, police dropped the case after a consultant psychiatrist deemed the schizophrenic "incapable" mentally of being held responsible.
Broken Trust in Authorities
During a meeting with the now-retired chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police Kate Meynell, Ms. Newton said she was not informed about Calocane's past involvement with police but was instead told about a WhatsApp group where officers discussed the fatal attacks. "I have lost faith in the police and I feel like I have not been given the information and have been lied to really," she testified.
Ms. Newton also criticized Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT), which discharged Calocane in September 2022. In an email read to the inquiry, she stated: "I want you to understand that I am not interested in apologies because it is too late, too little." She holds the NHS responsible for the deaths and wrote: "I have zero confidence in any changes that NHS makes in the future. It does not learn its lessons and does not care about people, only statistics and numbers."
Further Investigation Details
The inquiry heard additional troubling details about the case, including that Mr. Coates's body remained at the crime scene for nearly 15 hours while police investigated. For more than two hours after his death, there was no forensic tent, and he was covered only with blankets.
Calocane, now 34, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and is currently serving an indefinite hospital order at Ashwood High Secure Hospital in Merseyside. He will remain there until either the Secretary of State for Justice or a mental health tribunal determines he no longer poses a risk to the public.
Mr. Coates's sons have previously described their father as a diehard Nottingham Forest fan and keen fisherman who took young people from deprived backgrounds fishing to deter them from crime. James Coates has called Calocane a "selfish monster" and stated that failures by police, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the health service resulted in the murders.
The inquiry continues to examine systemic failures in communication between police and mental health services, as well as procedural errors that may have contributed to the tragedy.
