Police admit they ‘should have done more to arrest Nottingham killer’ | UK | News

Police have admitted they « should have done more » to arrest a paranoid schizophrenic before he killed three in a knife-wielding rampage.

Valdo Calocane, 32, stabbed Grace O’Malley Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both aged 19, to death as the students walked together following a night out.

Nottingham Police’s admission – including that they failed to execute an outstanding arrest warrant – came as Grace’s distraught family demanded emergency legislation that would see anybody carrying a knife in public automatically jailed.

Calocane also butchered Ian Coates, 65, and attempted to kill three other people by mowing them down in a van he stole from the school caretaker. Fighting back tears, Grace’s mum Sinead O’Malley said: « I believe there has to be mandatory prison sentences for carrying a knife. It’s no different to carrying a gun. »

Her husband Dr Sanjoy Kurmar said: « Knife crime in England is an epidemic. Young children should be taught about knife crime.Why don’t oung we have campaigns about knife crime? »

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin confessed: « We should have done more to arrest him. » He said it was unlikely Calocane would have been jailed but conceded « it might have triggered a route back into mental health services ».

Yesterday, defence barrister Peter Joyce KC told a sentencing hearing at Nottingham Crown Court: « He should not have been on the streets of Nottingham but the fact he was is not his fault. »

This week Calocane pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and attempted murder, with all his pleas accepted by prosecutors – meaning he avoided standing trial for murder. It is expected he will be detained for life with a hospital order. He will be sentenced today.