Inquiry Hears Psychiatrists Returned Hammer to Nottingham Attacker Valdo Calocane

An independent inquiry in central London heard evidence Monday about the care of Valdo Calocane at a private mental health facility before he carried out fatal stabbings in Nottingham in June 2023. Health officials at the Priory Hospital in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, returned a hammer to Calocane on October 10, 2021, after he had brought it onto the ward following a period of leave.

The former student, who had been sectioned three times by that point, told a doctor he packed the tool because he needed to hang items in his new property, even though he did not have a new place to live. Counsel to the inquiry Craig Carr described the explanation as completely implausible.

The medical director at the hospital stated it was plausible in Calocane's mind but that staff were sceptical and agreed they should keep an eye on him as he may still be paranoid. The medical director added that the incident was not reflected in Calocane's risk assessment and that this should have been included.

A charge nurse who worked at the hospital at the time agreed the hammer incident was obviously really serious and clearly a potential weapon but could not recall how it was followed up by staff.

A Care Quality Commission inspection of the Priory Hospital in December 2021 rated it inadequate overall and raised concerns over patient safety. Calocane was discharged from specialist mental health services in 2022 after he stopped engaging with appointments.

Despite recorded concerns about his lack of insight, refusal to take medication, and violent behaviour when unmedicated, he was discharged from the Early Intervention in Psychosis service and transferred back to GP care. A doctor from the University of Nottingham’s Cripps Health Centre told the inquiry that patients should not be discharged simply for non-engagement and that no evidence of a safety assessment appeared in the discharge information provided to the practice.

Calocane fatally stabbed Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, in June 2023. He admitted manslaughter and three counts of attempted murder. In January 2024 he was detained indefinitely in a high-security hospital after prosecutors accepted his not guilty pleas to murder.

The inquiry, which is examining events leading up to the attack, continues.