The NHS trust that treated the triple killer Valdo Calocane in the years before the Nottingham attacks is being investigated by police for corporate manslaughter.
Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after he fatally stabbed the 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley Kumar, and the 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates, on 13 June 2023.
A public inquiryinto the events leading up to the 2023 attacks heard how the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation trust had sectioned Calocane four times between 2020 and 2022.
Evidence given to the inquiry detailed a string of violent incidents that Calocane had committed in the years before the Nottingham attacks and his repeated refusal to take medication. During his second hospital admission, the inquiry heard how a doctor had warned that Calocane could “end up killing someone”.
Despite this, Calocane was discharged from mental health services in September 2022 because he had failed to attend his appointments and healthcare workers “couldn’t find him”.
Emma Webber, the mother of Barnaby Webber, and Dr Sanjoy Kumar, the father of Grace O’Malley Kumar, at a memorial walk to lay flowers in Nottingham last year. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA
Northumbria police confirmed they were carrying out the criminal inquiry on behalf of the Nottinghamshire force. The NHS trust said it was cooperating with the investigation, which could result in substantial fines and changes to its leadership.
Charges of corporate manslaughter, a serious criminal offence, can only apply to certain organisations, including public bodies such as local authorities and NHS trusts, to ensure they can “be held properly accountable for very serious failings resulting in death”, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
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The public inquiry into the attacks, which is expected to publish its findings next year, heard that there had been a warrant out for Calocane’s arrest at the time of the Nottingham attacks after he failed to appear in court for the alleged assault of a police officer.
Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire police forces apologised during the inquiry for failing to act on the warrant, which according to the Times is why the Northumbria force will carry out the investigation into the NHS trust.
The Nottingham trust has been under close scrutiny since the 2023 attacks. A 2026 report by the Care Quality Commission said it needed to make significant improvements.
A trust spokesperson said: “Northumbria police, acting on behalf of Nottinghamshire police, have begun an investigation into matters relating to the care and treatment of Valdo Calocane.
“We know how important the independent inquiry and police investigation are for the affected families, the survivors and our local communities. We will, of course, be cooperating fully with Northumbria police, as we have with the statutory inquiry.”
A spokesperson for the force said: “Our thoughts are very much with the victims, their families and all those impacted by the tragic events in Nottingham in June 2023.
“We are in contact with the victims’ families and survivors and are committed to supporting them throughout this process.”
