In a definitive ruling handed down today, the Court of Appeal in London has declared that the sentence passed on former Haverfordwest resident Valdo Calocane, responsible for the deaths of three individuals, was not unduly lenient. Calocane, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, was previously ordered to remain in hospital indefinitely after his manslaughter conviction.
The tragic incident, which occurred in the early hours of June 13 last year in Nottingham, resulted in the brutal stabbings of 19-year-old students Barney Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, along with 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates. Despite the devastating impact on the victims’ families, who had pressed for a murder trial, Nottingham Crown Court had accepted Calocane’s guilty plea to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility this January.
The decision not to pursue a harsher sentence was challenged in February when the Attorney General referred the case to the Court of Appeal. Last week, arguments were heard advocating for a ‘hybrid’ order that would have seen Calocane treated in a medical facility before potentially transferring to prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
However, the panel of three senior judges today reaffirmed the original sentencing, emphasising that the extreme mental health issues faced by Calocane were the primary drivers behind his actions. Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, in delivering the judgment, pointed out that there was no fault with the original judge’s decision and concluded that the sentence imposed was “not arguably unduly lenient,” acknowledging the “unimaginable grief” caused yet underscoring the critical role of Calocane’s mental condition in the events.
