Son Discovers Father's Murder Through Instagram Message During Nottingham Inquiry
The son of a school caretaker murdered in the Nottingham attacks has revealed he discovered his father's death through an Instagram message, initially believing it to be a cruel hoax. James Coates, whose 65-year-old father Ian Coates was fatally stabbed by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane, shared his harrowing experience at the public inquiry into the attacks in London.
Timeline of Tragedy and Communication Failures
Ian Coates was killed just over an hour after 19-year-old university students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar were also murdered on 13 June 2023. Mr Coates told the inquiry he was aware of a significant police incident unfolding in the city that morning, causing road closures and affecting colleagues' commutes. He later learned of a fatality on Magdala Road, close to his home, but remained tragically unaware that the victim was his own father.
"It wasn't until 3pm that I was walking up the road to my house that I decided to check Instagram," James testified. "I'd not got notifications on, but I got a message from a family friend saying 'I cant believe what's happened to your dad, please ring me'. My first instinct is it's a hoax message and it's been hacked and trying to get me to ring this number."
James described how he asked the friend if this was a joke, and she messaged again reiterating that he should call her immediately. "She was in hysterics, she said my dad had been involved in an RTA but she had seen what was going off in Nottingham. I still didn't believe it," he told the hearing.
Police Response Criticized as Inadequate
James revealed they only received a call from Nottinghamshire Police 10 minutes before former chief constable Kate Meynell did a press conference to inform Nottingham residents about the attacks. By that point, the family had already tried calling a helpline they saw on television, the non-emergency number 101, and even 999 to obtain information about what had happened to their father.
"By then, we'd pieced almost everything together ourselves from social media and the news so then it was just a case of them apologising that we had to do that," he stated. Police logs showed James's number was available to police at 12 minutes to eight in the morning, yet they didn't receive a call back until around 5pm, which he described as "disgusting."
James's brother Lee Coates told the inquiry he found Ms Meynell's claims on television that officers were "doing everything for the bereaved families" both rude and disingenuous. "She'd personally not made any contact with us. We'd had to fight to find out information about our dad," Lee testified.
Family Feels Abandoned and Overwhelmed
The brothers expressed feeling "abandoned and overwhelmed" by the authorities, stating they were not fully informed about what had happened to their father and felt like an "afterthought" when vigils were arranged in the city. Speaking of the moment he saw Calocane for the first time in court, James told the hearing: "It struck me how large he was... my dad was six months from retirement, he was quite skinny, he lived off coffee and cigarettes. Seeing his build, I knew there was never going to be any chance of them protecting themselves against him."
It was at Calocane's sentencing hearing that they learned the "full extent" of their father's injuries. Lee said he was "absolutely distraught" when he heard in November 2023 that he should expect Calocane to plead not guilty to murdering his father.
Partner Receives Contradictory Information
Ian Coates's long-term partner Elaine Newton told the hearing it felt like her partner had been killed twice because she was first told he had died in a car crash. Ms Newton revealed she was initially informed by police that Mr Coates had died in a road traffic accident and did not discover he had actually been stabbed to death until more than four hours later.
She told the inquiry that police liaison officers later asked her to tell them what she knew about what had happened. "And I said 'Yes, Ian was in an RTA but I don't know any more than that'," Ms Newton testified. "And 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."
Asked how it felt to be told how he had really died, Ms Newton responded: "It felt like he'd been killed twice. It wasn't right. 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 was not right, it was a mess."
Systemic Failures Across Multiple Agencies
Ms Newton also revealed she only became aware of previous incidents involving Calocane and the police during the inquiry process. "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 stated.
In the wake of the attacks, Ms Newton asked Nottinghamshire Police how Calocane was allowed to be "roaming" the city so long after he had carried out the fatal stabbings and was given what she described as "excuses." "I did ask that question to Kate Meynell and my family liaison officer and they said it could be quite a few reasons, there was not enough police that morning, Nottingham is a big place," she testified.
Calocane had been discharged by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in September 2022. Ms Newton read an email she sent to the trust following meetings with representatives, which stated: "I want you to understand that I am not interested in apologies because it is too late, too little."
In the email, she said she holds the NHS responsible for the deaths of Mr Coates, Mr Webber and Ms O'Malley-Kumar. "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," she wrote. "I believe that is how you see Ian Coates, as just another statistic that you brush aside and file away."
Calls for Accountability and Systemic Change
Ms Newton told the inquiry: "I think the police have let the public and myself and all other families down." When asked why, she responded: "Because they didn't do their job properly, they didn't communicate with the NHS, the NHS didn't communicate with the police. So I think between them all they've caused this."
In a statement he read to the hearing, James said that new information he had discovered since the inquiry had started had "astounded" him. "Over the last two-and-a-half years, I thought I'd heard it all, from missed opportunities, misconduct, clinical mistakes and institutional laziness but unfortunately, more revelations are coming out each week," he stated.
James continued: "My innocent father isn't here to see justice and it's a hard pill to swallow knowing his attacker won't spend any time behind bars. I feel sorry for the people of Nottingham who put their trust into the police, the NHS... who have continued to fail them."
Meanwhile, Lee told the inquiry he has had to come to terms with the fact that the deaths of his father, Ms O'Malley-Kumar and Mr Webber were preventable. "What I have heard at the inquiry so far has left me with many questions," he testified. "It has taken a further toll on my mental health and I've been shocked and dissatisfied with the responses the witnesses have provided and the stances they have fiercely maintained."
He concluded: "The people of Nottingham deserve far more than the agencies we have heard from so far. I have not been reassured by much of the evidence I have heard. I stand here today to fight for my dad. His life mattered. He deserved better than what happened to him and I will not stop saying that until it is acknowledged, not just in words but in meaningful change."
