Northumbria police have launched a corporate manslaughter investigation into the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which treated Valdo Calocane before he killed three people in Nottingham in June 2023. Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after fatally stabbing students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, on 13 June 2023.
Background of Calocane's treatment
A public inquiry into the attacks revealed that the trust had sectioned Calocane four times between 2020 and 2022. Evidence detailed a string of violent incidents and his repeated refusal to take medication. During his second hospital admission, a doctor warned that Calocane could “end up killing someone.” Despite this, he was discharged from mental health services in September 2022 because he failed to attend appointments and healthcare workers “couldn’t find him.” At the time of the attacks, there was a warrant out for his arrest after he failed to appear in court for allegedly assaulting a police officer.
Investigation details
Northumbria police are conducting the criminal inquiry on behalf of Nottinghamshire police. The trust said it is cooperating fully. Corporate manslaughter charges can apply to public bodies like NHS trusts to hold them accountable for serious failings resulting in death, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. The investigation could lead to substantial fines and changes to the trust's leadership.
Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire police forces apologized during the inquiry for failing to act on the warrant. The Care Quality Commission's 2026 report stated the trust needed significant improvements.
Statements from involved parties
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 will, of course, be cooperating fully with Northumbria police, as we have with the statutory inquiry.” A Northumbria police spokesperson added: “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.”
The public inquiry is expected to publish its findings next year.
