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Killer's dark texts revealed before Nottingham murders
22 Apr
Summary
- Man sent murder texts three years before fatal attacks.
- Inquiry reveals doctor's doubts about the killer's risk.
- Killer's mental health care under scrutiny by inquiry.
An inquiry into the Nottingham murders has heard that Valdo Calocane, who killed three people, sent disturbing text messages to his brother about thoughts of violence and "red rum" three years prior to the attacks. These messages surfaced before his first psychiatric admission.
During his second admission to Highbury Hospital in July 2020, a consultant psychiatrist, Dr. Faizal Seedat, noted that Calocane showed "no insight or remorse" and warned him that "the danger is that this will happen again, and perhaps [Calocane] will end up killing someone." Despite these explicit warnings and Calocane's diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, a former doctor on the ward stated that the clinical team did not believe he was likely to kill. Calocane was discharged from the trust's care in September 2022, months before the fatal stabbings.
The doctor questioned, Dr. Anna Ludvigsen, described the ward environment during the COVID-19 pandemic as "extremely difficult and chaotic," admitting that she and her colleagues felt "out of their depth." The inquiry continues to examine the timeline and quality of care provided to Calocane by the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
