Nottinghamshire Police have come under fire from the relatives of Valdo Calocane’s victims.
The families of Nottingham triple killer Valdo Calocane’s victims said they “will not be silenced” as they continued to raise “serious concerns” about the way police have handled the case.
Nottinghamshire Police have come under fire from the relatives, who accused the force of “ongoing mismanagement” and “gagging” the press in a bid to stop details of failings being made public.
Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order last month for stabbing to death university students Barnaby Webber, 19, and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, in the early hours of June 13 last year.
He admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of three people who were hit by a van stolen from Mr Coates, after Nottingham Crown Court heard he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Relatives of his victims reacted angrily to the sentencing, after prosecutors decided not to pursue murder charges.
A series of investigations into the actions of police, prosecutors and mental health staff continue, as the families call for “serious failures” in the case to be “fully addressed”.
Their comments came after Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Kate Meynell said she was “horrified” after one of her officers viewed bodycam footage showing the aftermath of the attacks.
An investigation found eleven members of the force’s staff viewed material relating to the case who did not have a legitimate reason to do so. Three faced disciplinary action but eight did not, instead being handed “performance interventions”.
In a statement sent to the PA news agency on Monday by Mr Webber’s mother, Emma Webber, the families said: “We will not be silenced. This behaviour must be addressed and urgent changes made as this must not happen again to other innocent families.”
The “lengthy and detailed statement” was sent because it was of the “utmost importance that our serious concerns and ongoing mismanagement by the Nottingham Police are brought to light”, the families said.
They also criticised the force for holding an off-the-record press briefing last week, where journalists were told they could not report the information discussed.
“We cannot find any fair or reasonable rationale as to why the police force has endeavoured to shackle the media from reporting on their conduct or investigations,” the statement said.
It also claimed the chief constable had told families she was “committed to transparency in all communication” but later refused to answer additional questions from Mrs Webber.
Nottinghamshire Police have been contacted for comment.
