Man denies murder of three in Nottingham but admits manslaughter

A man has admitted killing three people and pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of three more in a spate of attacks in Nottingham earlier this year.

Valdo Calocane, who answered to the name Adam Mendes at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, pleaded not guilty to murdering university students Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, on June 13, but admitted their manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.

At the same hearing, he pleaded guilty to the attempted murders of three pedestrians – Sharon Miller, Marcin Gawronski and Wayne Birkett – on the same day after hitting them with a van he had allegedly stolen from Mr Coates.

The 32-year-old appeared in the dock dressed in a dark suit and looked straight ahead during the 15-minute hearing.

His barrister, Peter Joyce KC, said the defendant “does not dispute the physical facts of the prosecution’s case”, but added that he had been suffering from “extreme” mental illness at the time.

Prosecutor Karim Khalil said they would need further time to decide whether Calocane’s pleas were acceptable or not.

Calocane is accused of fatally knifing Ms O’Malley-Kumar and Mr Webber, who were studying medicine and history at the University of Nottingham respectively, on Ilkeston Road at around 4am on June 13.

Mr Coates was then found dead in Magdala Road around an hour later.

The defendant is then alleged to have used Mr Coates’ van to drive at three pedestrians, Wayne Birkett, Marcin Gawronski and Sharon Miller, in Milton Street and South Sherwood Street.

Thousands attended vigils for the victims both at the University of Nottingham and in the city centre in the wake of the attacks.

Calocane was previously a student at the university, although police said at the time that they did not believe this was connected to the incident.

Mr Webber, from Taunton in Somerset, was a keen cricketer and “an extraordinary ‘ordinary’ person”, his family said.

Ms O’Malley-Kumar, a hockey player from Woodford in London, was described by her family as being “loved endlessly by all” and “resilient and wise beyond her years”.

Their families have since pledged to create foundations in their memory to ensure they “leave a legacy”, with fundraisers raising more than £80,000 combined.

Two of Mr Coates’ sons said his death had “rocked everyone’s world”, adding: “Nobody deserves this but he definitely didn’t.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating Nottinghamshire Police’s involvement in the incident, after the force referred itself to the watchdog the day after the attacks.

The IOPC previously said that an officer driving a single-crewed vehicle was responding to a related call when it came across the van allegedly being driven by Calocane.

Dashcam footage suggests the officer had sight of it for less than a minute before it hit pedestrians.

The officer immediately stopped to give first aid to those who had been hit, with the investigation considering whether the actions of the van driver were influenced by the presence of the police car.

Judge Mr Justice Turner adjourned the case until January 16 2024.