Nottingham killer dubbed 'The Psycho' by uni classmates before rampage

23 January 2024 , 11:20

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Calocane started his knife attack spree at around 4am

Nottingham rampage killer Valdo Calocane was nicknamed “The Psycho” by university classmates because of his odd behaviour.

Calocane started his knife attack spree at around 4am on June 13 last year in the Ilkeston Road area of Nottingham. Medical student Grace, of Woodford, and history student Barnaby, of Taunton, were stabbed as they walked home from a night out.

Ian, who was weeks away from retiring at Huntington Academy, was later killed two miles away in Mapperley Park. Calocane then stole Ian’s van and drove into Nottingham city centre, where he careered into pedestrians at two separate locations.

Two victims - Sharon Miller and Marcin Gawronski - suffered minor injuries, while another man, Wayne Birkett, 58, was critically hurt. The rampage finally came to an end around a mile-and-a-half away in Hyson Green when the van was stopped and an arrest was made.

It has now been revealed that one former flatmate of Calocane was so scared of the “volatile” student they put a lock on the inside of their bedroom door. They said: “He was like Jekyll and Hyde. Chilled one minute, raging the next. We called him The Psycho behind his back.”

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Grace was stabbed to death on June 13, last year (Nottinghamshire Police / SWNS)

Grace enjoyed playing hockey and cricket

Calocane was nearly a decade older than other freshers when he started at the University of Nottingham in 2019. Fellow classmates on the 32-year-old’s mechanical engineering course described him as “quiet” and “aloof”. But it was behind closed doors, in a string of shared student digs in Nottingham, where he showed his true colours. Flatmates recalled how Calocane “hated noise” and would snap if he was disturbed while studying or sleeping.

“He would lose it if we came back late from a night out and woke him up,” one former student told the Mirror. "It was a bad mix. He was a guy in his late 20s, we were party animals barely out of our teens. Valdo was so volatile. He come storming out of his room in a rage without warning.

Barnaby was killed on his way home from a night out (Nottinghamshire Police / SWNS)

Caretaker Ian was killed and had his van stolen (Miro Photography)

“He didn’t attack any of us, he would just erupt shouting and get right in our faces. A few times he literally came into my room and was ranting and raving because I had my music on. It freaked me out, so I got a sliding lock put on the inside of my door to stop him doing it again.”

A previously unearthed video showed Calocane putting a flatmate in a headlock during a furious row. He moved between various student accommodation during his time at the University of Nottingham. One block of flats was a stone’s throw from where Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, were stabbed to death.

Calocane eventually ended up living in a halfway house and failed to turn up for his graduation ceremony in August 2022. His difficulties in Nottingham were a far cry from his “idyllic” upbringing in the Welsh market town of Haverfordwest.

Valdo Calocane has appeared in court following the stabbings (PA)

Classmates reported Valdo behaved strangely

He moved there with his parents from the West African country of Guinea-Bissau, where he was born in September 1991. Neighbours described him as a polite churchgoer from a good family who would always say hello to them. He attended the Calvary Church along with his carer dad Amissao, 56, nurse mum Celeste, 44, and two younger siblings.

Neighbour Marlene Raymond, 55, previously said: “I can picture the eldest boy now in his school uniform, he was very smart and handsome. He was very bright, all three children are - they are a nice family and have been lovely neighbours for years.

“I haven't seen the oldest boy for some time - since he went away to college or uni. They are very clever, all of them are polite and intelligent children.” The family worship at the Calvary Church in Haverfordwest which is less than a quarter of a mile from their home.

A police cordon was set up on Ilkeston Road after the attack (Nottingham Post/BPM Media)

Calocane’s guilty pleas to the manslaughter of Grace, Barnaby and school caretaker Ian Coates were accepted by prosecutors today. He denied murdering the trio and prosecutors requested an adjournment while deciding whether to accept his pleas to manslaughter.

Calocane had a four-year history of major mental disorder, the Mirror can also reveal. He was referred to mental health services in 2020 and admitted to hospital in May that year, where he spent a month as an in-patient. Calocane was detained by police under the Mental Health Act in July 2020 and spent another month in hospital.

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He was again detained by police under the Mental Health Act in November 2021 and January 2022 and once again released. After that point he refused to cooperate with mental health services. Calocane was charged with assaulting a police officer in Nottingham in September 2022.

Heartbreaking tributes were left at the scene in Nottingham (Nottinghamshire Live/BPM Media)

He failed to turn up to court and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The mature student was still on the run when he killed Barnaby, Grace and Ian, 65, in June last year. Barnaby, Grace and Ian’s deaths shocked the nation. Thousands of people gathered at emotional vigils where relatives of the victims addressed the crowds and paid tribute to their loved ones.

The England and Australia men's cricket teams also paid tribute to those who died at the start of the Ashes test series at Edgbaston. Players wore black armbands and a minute’s silence was observed before the national anthems. Barnaby and Grace were both talented cricketers. Grace was also a part of the university hockey team and had represented England at under-18 level in the sport.

Martin Fricker