A mentally ill man who went on a stabbing spree in central England last year was sentenced to a high-security mental institution in late January after pleading guilty to three counts of diminished capacity manslaughter, UPI reported.
Valdo Calocane, a 32-year-old paranoid schizophrenic, murdered two Nottingham University students and a 65-year-old janitor in the city of Nottingham in the early hours of June 13, 2023.
Calocane repeatedly stabbed Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Grace O’Malley Kumar, both 19, as they were walking home after spending the evening celebrating the end of exams.
Not long after killing the two students, Calocane crossed paths with school janitor Ian Coates. The 65-year-old Coates was just weeks from retirement when Calocane stabbed him to death and stole his van.
Calocane then ran over three people in the street in Coates’ van before he was stopped by police. The three victims survived.
In imposing the sentence on Calocane, Judge Mark Turner said that under the Mental Health Act, it was possible that Calocane would remain in a high-security hospital for the rest of his life.
Judge Turner said Calocane had committed “sickening” crimes that shook the country and “wrecked the lives” of the families of the victims and the survivors.
According to the Associated Press, the victims’ families slammed the judge’s decision and the entire legal process that allowed Calocane to be tried for manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, arguing that he should have been tried for murder.
After doctors testified that Calocane believed he was controlled by external forces and his family would be in danger if he failed to obey the voices in his head, the Crown Prosecution Service agreed to allow Calocane’s counsel to pursue a manslaughter defense.
After hearing the evidence, Judge Turner said he was satisfied that Calocane was a paranoid schizophrenic and should therefore serve his time in a high-security hospital rather than prison so he could receive the treatment he needed.
