'Over my dead body': Mother of Nottingham attacks victim warns killer could be eligible for release next year

The mother of a student stabbed to death by a paranoid schizophrenic has spoken of her anger after it emerged his killer could be eligible for release as early as next year. 

Emma Webber, whose son Barnaby was killed by Valdo Calocane in June 2023 said he would be freed 'over my dead body'. 

Calocane also killed fellow Nottingham University student Grace O’Malley-Kumar, also 19, as she and Barnaby walked home from a night out in the city in June 2023 before stabbing school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, and using his van to mow down three pedestrians. 

The paranoid schizophrenic, who had been sectioned four times before the attacks, was handed an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after he pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

The sentencing judge told him he would be detained in a high security hospital 'very probably for the rest of your life'. 

But Mrs Webber said she had recently found out he could apply for release in 2027. 

Speaking after new laws to stop offenders detained in hospital receiving benefits of £800 a month were laid in parliament, Mrs Webber said: 'This is somebody who has found his way into the hospital system - so he is a patient, not a criminal. 

'After three years, January 2027, he can apply to go to a tribunal to come out if he's well enough.'

Speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC she added: 'I mean, of course, he's going to be denied, because quite frankly, Nick [Ferrari], over my dead body will that monster ever come out. And I mean that.'

She said that if he was unsuccessful he could apply again annually. 

Calocane was detained at Ashworth Secure Hospital after his pleas of manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility were accepted by the prosecution – to the anger of the victims' families who wanted him tried for murder and sent to prison. 

Instead he was sentenced under section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983, which entitles an offender to a review of their mental health after three years where they could become eligible for release if doctors assess that they have recovered and are of sound mind.

Calocane was also subject to a section 41 order which gives the Justice Secretary or a first tier tribunal the power to block his release on the grounds that he is assessed to still be a risk to the public.

However, the judge did not impose a section 45a order, which would have meant that even if Calocane was judged safe to release, he would only be allowed to serve the rest of his sentence in jail, rather than in the community.

The judge, Mr Justice Turner, in his sentencing remarks, said this was because he would 'present a real danger to prison officers and fellow prisoners alike' if he relapsed in prison.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'Public protection is our number one priority. While all patients subject to a hospital order undergo regular reviews of their detention and placement, dangerous killers like Valdo Calocane are highly likely to remain detained for the rest of their lives.'