Sentence of Nottingham killer to be reviewed after criticism from victims’ families

The families say they were ‘rushed and railroaded’ into accepting the manslaughter plea

10 months ago

The sentence of the Nottingham killer is set to be reviewed by the Attorney General after criticism from the families of the victims.

Valdo Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order under section 37 of the Mental Health Act after the judge was satisfied that he is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

A complaint that the sentence was too lenient has since been made to the Attorney General Victoria Prentis, reports Nottinghamshire Live.

Prentis will now consider the complaint before deciding whether to refer the case to the Court of Appeals for judges to decide whether the sentence is appropriate.

James O’Malley-Kumar, Grace O’Malley-Kumar’s 17-year-old brother, spoke on radio station LBC this morning saying that the review of the sentence is “exactly what needs to be done.”

University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace both 19 years old, were fatally stabbed in the early hours of the morning on June 13th 2023 on Ilkeston Road.

Police then found the body of 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates on Magdala Road after his van was stolen.

Calocane had pleaded not guilty to murdering Barnaby, Grace and Ian but guilty to their manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.

He also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Sharon Miller, Martin Gawronski and Wayne Birkett.

Prosecution for Nottingham Crown Court accepted this plea due to his history of mental health issues.

The families of the victims, spoke of their anger surrounding the sentence with media on the steps of the Crown Court after the hearing.

Emma Webber, Barney’s mum, spoke about how they had been “let down by multiple agencies” saying how they had been “rushed, hastened and railroaded” into accepting the manslaughter plea.