Coates Family Testifies on Police Notification Errors at Nottingham Inquiry

The family of Ian Coates, a 65-year-old school caretaker stabbed to death in the Nottingham attacks, described profound distress over police mishandling of information following the killings during testimony at a public inquiry this week.

The attacks occurred in the early hours of June 13, 2023, when Valdo Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic, fatally stabbed University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley Kumar, both 19, on Ilkeston Road around 4 a.m. More than an hour later, at 5:14 a.m., he killed Coates on Magdala Road in Mapperley Park. Calocane then stole Coates' van and struck three pedestrians in the city center, seriously injuring them. Police arrived at the Magdala Road scene shortly before 5:40 a.m. Calocane later admitted manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility and attempted murder, leading to his indefinite detention in a high-security hospital in January 2024.

Elaine Newton, Coates' long-term partner, told the Nottingham Inquiry on Tuesday that officers initially informed her of his death as a road traffic accident, a misconception that persisted for more than four hours. She recounted her denial upon hearing the news, insisting to...