Nottingham rampage victim’s families slam ‘shameful & arrogant’ BBC doc ‘too sympathetic’ to killer Valdo Calocane
THE heartbroken families of victims of a Nottingham knife rampage have blasted the BBC’s Panorama show about the incident as “shameful”.
Valdo Calocane killed 19-year-old students Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, as well as Ian Coates, 65, in June last year.
The paranoid schizophrenic, 32, then stole Ian’s van and rammed three people, causing serious injuries to them.
It later emerged cops failed to arrest Calocane – who had previously been sectioned four times – a year earlier when he attacked a police officer.
The victims’ families were dealt another blow when prosecutors dropped murder charges and the twisted killer instead admitted manslaughter, before receiving a hospital order.
The Beeb’s documentary, The Nottingham Attacks: A Search for Answers, aired on August 12.
The loved ones of all three victims have made formal complaints, labelling the show “shameful and arrogant”.
They also claim they were refused a preview screening, adding that it contains inaccuracies and was too sympathetic to the killer’s family.
Barnaby’s mum Emma, speaking on behalf of all three families, told The Mirror: “We believe what they’ve produced is a very imbalanced documentary – it’s shameful, cold, ill-judged, arrogant and thoughtless.”
She went on to say the broadcaster’s treatment of the case has made their trauma worse and they were only informed about the show after it had already been filmed, just two works prior to it going out.
Emma said producers told them “people would be talking on camera for the first time”, but refused to give any further details.
It was only on watching the show they realised Calocane’s family were interviewed.
She said to “even know their names is trauma” and having to see photos of the killer as a child “made it a million times worse”.
They have also questioned claims Calocane’s family were unaware of his mental health issues until after the killings, despite his being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020.
Emma went on to raise an issue with the BBC failing to mention his mother was an NHS nurse.
She said: “There were a wide number of inaccuracies and clearly curated editing to make it an attack on the NHS failures and a sympathetic piece towards the family.”
She added they “utterly dispute” the family being unaware of the diagnosis and have “seen evidence that they knew years ago”.
Complaints submitted by Grace, Barnaby and Ian’s families have been escalated to the BBC’s highest stage two level.
If they are dissatisfied with the corporation’s response, they could then approach TV regulator Ofcom.
Lawyer Neil Hudgell, who is representing the families, said they believe they were not consulted so “the programme could promote the narrative that the Calocane family were victims too”.
The Sun has contacted the BBC for comment.
Timeline of the Nottingham attacks
The attacks started around 4am on June 13 2023 on Ilkeston Road, Nottingham when Calocane launched at Barnaby and Grace.
Prosecutor Karim Khalil KC said the “brutal” attack was captured from a taxi’s dashcam.
He added: “That footage shows that the devastating violence of the attacks was mirrored only by the deliberate and merciless way the defendant acted.”
Once he killed Grace and Barnaby, rampaging Calocane attempted to break into a home but was punched in the face by a stunned occupant.
Undeterred, he made his way to Magdala Road where he came across caretaker Ian.
He then used the van to run down the three pedestrians.
Police announced a “major incident” was taking place around 7am.
In the hours that followed, they revealed three people were dead, another was fighting for his life and two were injured.
Valdo Calocane was identified as the man, and arrested on suspicion of murder.
The families of Grace and Barnaby gathered at a vigil the day after they were killed.
On June 16, three days after the attack, he was charged with the triple murder.
One week after the attack, one of the men who was run down by Calocane’s van opened up about the horror and said he “remembered everything“.
On July 12, grandfather Ian was farewelled at a service filled with loved ones.
Two days later, “extraordinary” Barnaby’s mum broke down in tears at his funeral – where hundreds gathered to say goodbye.
And on July 21, more than 1,000 mourners came together to pay tribute to Grace.
Calocane was found guilty of the manslaughter of Grace and Barnaby, and 65-year-old grandfather Ian Coates on January 23.
In May, he was given an indefinite hospital order after prosecutors accepted a plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.