Nottingham killer is evil person, says victim's son

The son of Ian Coates, one of three people stabbed to death in Nottingham, said his father's killer was the "most evil person on this planet".

The school caretaker was killed along with students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, on 13 June.

James Coates described Valdo Calocane as cold, calculated and brutal.

Calocane is being sentenced after pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.

Mr Coates, 65, was driving his van in Magdala Road when he was repeatedly stabbed, suffering wounds to his abdomen and chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Calocane has also admitted three counts of attempted murder after driving Mr Coates's van, which he had stolen, at three people following the killings.

Mr Coates worked at the Huntingdon Academy in Nottingham and was four months from retirement at the time of his death.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, James Coates talked about his hatred for his father's killer.

"To me, he [Calocane] is the most evil person on this planet," the 38-year-old said.

"He went out and brutally massacred three people then attempted to kill another three."

James added the catastrophic events of that day would have been something "Nottingham or this country have never seen", had Calocane not been caught.

His brother Lee, 37, said: "The guy is a coward. He honed in on weak and vulnerable young students, weak and vulnerable old people."

In a statement, Nottinghamshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin said he had reviewed the force's involvement and found "we should have done more to arrest" Calocane prior to the killings.

Prosecutors accepted a plea of manslaughter from Calocane on the basis of diminished responsibility after he denied murder charges in November.

Calocane was suffering "serious" mental illness, Nottingham Crown Court has heard.

Prosecutor Karim Khalil said three psychiatrists had assessed Calocane, concluding that despite suffering paranoid schizophrenia, he would have understood the nature of his conduct in attacking three of his victims with a dagger described in court as "a double-edged fighting knife".

Mr Khalil said the families of the victims had been consulted before the prosecution decided to accept the pleas entered.

But the families of Ms O'Malley-Kumar and Mr Coates have expressed disappointment with the way the case concluded.

Lee added: "The way this case has gone shows the flaws in the justice system because the evidence is there that it was calculated, pre-meditated and therefore should it be murder.

"I think it is disgusting. He has to spend the rest of his life behind bars, otherwise we have been let down by this country and the judicial system."

Mr Coates's sister, Susan Coates, said: "[Calocane] took three lives and attempted to take three others. However they term it, to me it wasn't manslaughter, he slaughtered and for that I can't forgive him."

Paying tribute to her brother, the 68-year-old added: "He was such a kind man and all he was doing was going to work.

"What he did leave was a legacy of love, a legacy of kindness. I am really proud that in the life he did have, he made a massive impact and that he impacted on everybody."

The judge is due to hand down his sentence on Thursday.

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