The brother of Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane has told an inquiry he did not think his sibling's violent messages were about murder, but about suicide. Elias Calocane said he assumed texts about hurting 'permanently' referred to his brother's suicidal thoughts, not harming others.
Valdo Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, fatally stabbed Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, before trying to murder three pedestrians with a van on June 13, 2023. Elias told the inquiry: 'I thought he was talking about how he wanted to kill himself the night before.'
The inquiry heard that in 2020, three years before the killings, Valdo sent a series of concerning messages to his brother, including references to 'red rum' (murder spelt backwards) and feelings of 'immense anguish, paranoia, anger, hatred.' Elias said he 'definitely didn't associate it with murder.'
Elias also revealed he was unaware of his brother's diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia until October 2023, months after the attacks. He said he was convinced his brother would take his own life, describing an 'I love you' message in January 2020 as a 'goodbye message.'
Barnaby Webber's mother, Emma Webber, criticised the family, saying: 'We believe the family have misled everybody. They knew so much more than they let on. They chose to look the other way.'
