Prosecutors on Tuesday allowed a schizophrenic migrant who admitted to killing three people and ramming a car through a crowd to avoid a murder trial by pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Valdo Calocane, who goes by the name Adam Mendes, admitted in court to stabbing three victims to death and attempting to kill three other people in the British city of Nottingham on June 13, 2023, The Guardian reported. Crown prosecutors accepted Calocane’s manslaughter plea on the grounds that his mental illness reduced his culpability for the crime.
Calocane attacked 19-year-old Nottingham University students Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, said King’s Counsel Karim Khalil, according to the outlet. O’Malley-Kumar shoved the suspect into the road after he stabbed Webber with a dagger, only to be stabbed multiple times herself after a physical altercation.
“Grace, demonstrating incredible bravery, sought to protect her friend and fight off the killer, pushing him away and into the road,” the prosecutor said.
Nottingham knife killer Valdo Calocane: Manslaughter plea accepted, for stabbing Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber & Ian Coates to death
Grace’s heartbroken brother, James, said: “I will never forgive him. He’s taken away my older sister and one day, when my parents are gone,… pic.twitter.com/sDirxnWKFK
— Martin Daubney 🇬🇧 (@MartinDaubney) January 23, 2024
Video footage played in court shows Calocane prowling city streets before the stabbings, though video of the violent incident itself was not shown in court, the outlet reported. Witnesses said they heard “an awful, blood-curdling scream” after the attacks, according to The Guardian.
Calocane later stabbed Ian Coates, a school caretaker, to death after he drove past, then stole Coates’ vehicle, which he used to ram several pedestrians, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Video Shows Two UK Royal Navy Ships Collide Off Bahrain Coast)
Khalil said prosecutors consulted the families of all three victims before accepting Calocane’s manslaughter plea, the Independent noted.
Several serious injuries resulted from Calocane’s reckless driving. One man crossing the road suffered a skull fracture causing serious brain bleeding after he was flipped into the air when struck by the vehicle, according to The Guardian. Other victims walking to work were “extremely fortunate to survive the impact,” the prosecutor said, according to the outlet.
Calocane has been receiving mental health treatment since 2020, the court heard, according to The Guardian. Khalil also Calocane was previously treated with antipsychotic medication, which he refused to take on his own while he “actively concealed symptoms of his psychosis,” the outlet reported.