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The mother of Valdo Calocane, the individual responsible for the Nottingham attacks, has described the care system intended to support him as “so broken” during a public inquiry investigating the incidents. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020, Valdo Calocane fatally stabbed Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates, and attempted to harm three others on 13 June 2023.
Celeste Calocane, Valdo’s mother, testified that she struggled to understand and navigate the mental health services while her son was detained under section four times over two years. She voiced concerns to authorities as early as three years before the attacks, warning that Valdo could pose a danger to others. At the time, he was living and studying in Nottingham, though his family is based in Wales. Born in Guinea-Bissau in 1991, Valdo spent his early years in Madeira and Lisbon, Portugal, before relocating to the UK at age 16.
According to Celeste, she first realized something was wrong in 2020 when Valdo began calling the family in a distressed and agitated state. His initial contact with psychiatric services followed his arrest for attempting to break into a neighbor’s flat in May 2020, leading to his first admission to Highbury Hospital’s psychiatric ward. Although no formal diagnosis was made at that time, as it was his first episode, Celeste felt the decision to discharge him just a few weeks later was premature. Despite her repeated concerns and calls to the mental health crisis team, follow-up actions were minimal, only including a phone call to Valdo.
Throughout the inquiry, Celeste emphasized the lack of communication and guidance from professionals regarding Valdo’s risks to himself and others. She described feeling isolated in managing her son’s care, with no clear explanations about what to expect or watch for. “I was just navigating the system on my own,” she said. Over time, her interaction with mental health services intensified—she spoke with them around 100 times—but she still felt powerless. At one point, Valdo withdrew consent for sharing his medical details with her, a decision Celeste doubted he was capable of making. Their contact became infrequent, and during their last meeting in November 2022, Celeste observed a profound emptiness in her son. “He wasn’t the Valdo that I knew… He was empty. There was nothing there,” she reflected.
On the day of the attacks, Valdo’s brother Elias contacted Celeste at work with grave concerns after a disturbing call from Valdo. Elias told her that Valdo said it would be the last time he’d speak to him and cryptically responded “it is already done” when questioned about his intentions. Unknown to Celeste at the time, Valdo had already carried out part of his assault. Although anxious, Celeste chose not to leave work immediately. When asked about this decision, she acknowledged her regret but explained, “this is something I’ve been living with for the last three years.” Addressing the chair of the inquiry, retired judge Deborah Taylor KC, she expressed a hope that the investigation would lead to improvements preventing others from enduring similar experiences. “No brother or mother should be left alone in that situation to try to navigate the service,” she said. “The system is so broken. No-one should have to go to bed thinking I’m going to have a phone call tomorrow that something happened to my loved one. When it gets to crisis, it’s too late.”
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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