The mother of Valdo Calocane, who killed three people in Nottingham in 2023, has told an inquiry that the mental health system is broken and that families are ignored until a crisis occurs. Celeste Calocane gave evidence for the first time at the inquiry into the attacks, which took place on 13 June 2023.
Valdo Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, killed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates, and attempted to kill three others. He was sentenced to a suspended hospital order in January 2024. Calocane had been sectioned four times between 2020 and 2023.
Celeste Calocane said she repeatedly raised concerns to medical staff but no one acted. In May 2020, she warned of her son's risk to others after he tried to break into a neighbour's flat. Her other son, Elias, compiled a dossier of violent messages, including one where Calocane said he was 'thinking about red rum' (murder spelled backwards) and wanted to 'hurt permanently'. Doctors did not respond to the dossier.
Calocane was discharged from hospital on 13 June 2020 against his mother's wishes. A month later, she alerted the crisis team, but no action was taken until he was in crisis again. During his second hospital admission, a doctor said Calocane could 'end up killing someone' and diagnosed 'likely schizophrenia', but Ms Calocane was not informed.
Ms Calocane said she was denied information because her son instructed staff not to share details. On the morning of the attacks, Elias told her about a call from Calocane who said it would be the last time he heard from him and that something was 'already done'. Ms Calocane feared suicide but did not leave work, saying she had been living with the situation for three years.
