Valdo Calocane, a man with a known history of mental health issues, has been convicted of killing three people and seriously injuring three others in a series of attacks in Nottingham on 13 June 2023. The incident, described as one of the darkest days in the city's history, began with the stabbing of two 19-year-old students, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, as they walked home from a night out.
Calocane, who had been pacing the streets for hours, followed the students before stabbing Webber multiple times. O'Malley-Kumar bravely fought back, grappling with Calocane for over 30 seconds, but was overpowered and stabbed repeatedly. A postmortem revealed 10 stab wounds on Webber and 23 on O'Malley-Kumar.
Calocane then encountered 65-year-old Ian Coates, a school caretaker, whom he stabbed to death before stealing his van. He drove into the city centre, hitting three pedestrians: Wayne Birkett, Marcin Gawronski, and Sharon Miller, all of whom survived but sustained serious injuries.
Initially, police investigated potential terrorist motives, but these were ruled out. Calocane pleaded not guilty to murder on grounds of diminished responsibility, citing paranoid schizophrenia. The large student community in Nottingham was deeply affected, with vigils held and thousands of tributes laid.
On what would have been Webber's 20th birthday, fresh flowers and a card were placed near the scene, reading: 'Never in a million years did I think I wouldn’t spend your 20th birthday with you. Missed more and more each day.' The city continues to mourn the loss.
