Killer Believed Voices Were Govt Punishment for Lockdown

A public inquiry heard that Valdo Calocane, the perpetrator of the Nottingham attacks, believed the voices he heard were a government-imposed punishment. These voices were allegedly a consequence of violating Covid lockdown regulations. Calocane, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020, fatally stabbed three individuals: Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates, on June 13, 2023.

Evidence presented at the inquiry revealed that Calocane had ceased his antipsychotic medication. He asserted that personal research indicated his experiences were not symptomatic of mental illness, thus negating the need for treatment. Doctors involved in his care expressed skepticism, suggesting his claims of conducting research might have been a delusion itself, serving to validate his existing beliefs.

Calocane had been subjected to four separate detentions under mental health orders prior to the fatal incidents. Following the stabbings, he also attempted to kill three pedestrians by using a van as a weapon in Nottingham. In January 2024, Calocane was indefinitely detained in a high-security hospital after prosecutors accepted his pleas of not guilty to murder, but guilty to manslaughter and three counts of attempted murder.