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The paranoid schizophrenic who killed three people in a rampage in Nottingham was released by mental health workers who had looked at ‘research that shows the over-representation of young black males in detention,’ an inquiry heard today.
Valdo Calocane had previously tried to kick down a neighbour’s front door in 2020, and mental health workers had to consider whether to section him.
The woman was so scared she had to jump out of a first floor window, causing a serious spinal injury.
The inquiry heard that the decision to treat Calocane in the community should have been "based purely on his current needs, acuity of symptoms and the risks", and not based on the patient's demographic.
Calocane was released into the community after their assessment, the inquiry heard.
Counsel to the Inquiry Rachel Langdale KC said: "An even more serious incident occurred shortly after VC's return from custody.
"You will hear evidence, Chair, from a former resident of Brook Court who heard a knock on her door soon after she had returned from work at around 8pm.
"It was VC. She asked who it was and he said: 'It's me, open please.'
"She repeated the question, but he just knocked louder and louder. He began kicking. She was alone in the flat and describes her fear at this point.
"She was so frightened that she jumped out of a first floor window, causing serious damage to her spine."
After this incident he was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and underwent a mental health assessment in which he said he had heard his mother screaming and believed she was being raped.
Mental health professionals eventually decided to release him into the community after considering “research that shows over-representation of young black males in detention”, the inquiry heard.
Three years later he fatally stabbed Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, university students aged 19, and Ian Coates, 65.
He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder – something which has been widely criticised by the victims' families.
Calocane was well known to police and mental health services, having been sectioned four times. He was discharged in late 2022 despite refusing to take his medication and not engaging properly with staff.
At the time of the triple killing, Calocane was described as being “unlawfully at large”.
An arrest warrant had been issued in September 2022 when he failed to attend court for assaulting a police officer that was still outstanding.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) also found officers failed to properly investigate an assault on warehouse workers by Calocane, which could have stopped his killing spree a month later.
He killed Grace and Barnaby as they walked back to their halls after a night out on June 13 2023.
He inflicted ‘grave injuries’ on Barnaby and then also knifed Grace as she tried to defend him, the inquiry heard.
After stabbing the two of them to death, he tried to climb into a home through a window but was shoved away.
He then reached Magdala Road where he found caretaker Ian.
He knifed him to death, stole his van and used it to ram into three pedestrians, Sharon Miller, Marcin Gawronski and Wayne Birkett.
Wayne suffered “life-changing injuries” including brain damage, and Marcin was left with a number of injuries, including broken ribs.
Sharon Miller still suffers from severe pain, is housebound and “may never return to work”, a court previously heard.
The inquiry continues.
