Valdo Calocane, the triple killer who murdered students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar and school caretaker Ian Coates in Nottingham in June 2023, is being held at Ashworth secure hospital. Staff there claim he is more dangerous than Moors murderer Ian Brady and cop killer Dale Cregan, two of Britain’s most notorious criminals.
Calocane's Violent History and Current Confinement
Calocane, 32, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020. He escaped jail after his legal team argued diminished responsibility, and he was instead given an indefinite hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter. He is now in Long Term Seclusion at Ashworth, where he cannot be left alone with other patients.
One hospital source said: “He is without doubt the most dangerous person I have ever come across in a career of 20 years dealing with seriously disturbed patients. He has had a series of violent outbursts and is extremely unpredictable.”
The source added: “Calocane cannot be left alone with other patients. He is in Long Term Seclusion and he may be held in that environment for a very long time, possibly years. Even for the most straightforward of situations several members of staff are involved.”
Comparison with Other Notorious Criminals
Staff at Ashworth have compared Calocane to Ian Brady, who with Myra Hindley murdered five children in the 1960s, and Dale Cregan, who killed two police officers in a grenade and gun attack in 2012. Both were held at Ashworth at different times.
The source said: “In most cases, dangerous patients will give you clues that they are about to turn violent. That is not the case with Calocane. I cannot see how he will ever be released from Ashworth. I think he was clearly a danger before he carried out the attacks in Nottingham.”
Inquiry into Failings
The Nottingham Inquiry into the killings laid bare a series of failings by authorities, including the NHS and police, in the years leading up to the attacks and in the aftermath. Barnaby’s mother, Emma Webber, described the inquiry as being “brutal, bruising and harrowing beyond measure — but it was so very necessary.”
Emma added that there had been “cover-up over candour”. She said: “This wasn’t bad luck. It was a catastrophic collapse of responsibility. An undoubted miscarriage of justice that must now be addressed.”
Families Demand Action
Emma is urging the Government to meet the families within the next month, adding that they would be calling for an “urgent re-examination”. She said: “The findings of this inquiry will not be made until spring of next year; however, that does not prevent action from being taken now.”
She continued: “This isn’t about vengeance, it’s about doing the right thing. Excuses stop here and accountability starts today.” The bereaved families have maintained the attacks were avoidable and have never been happy with Calocane’s sentence.
