Triple Nottingham killer brought hammer onto hospital ward two years before fatal stabbings
Paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane brought a hammer in his rucksack onto a hospital ward two years before he killed three people in Nottingham, an inquiry has heard.
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The former student told a doctor at the private mental health facility that he packed the tool in his bag because he needed to "hang items" in his new property, despite him not having a new place to live.
It came two years before he stabbed to death University of Nottingham undergraduates Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and grandfather Ian Coates, 65, in the early hours of June 13 2023.
He then used a stolen van to try to murder three pedestrians in Nottingham city centre.
On Monday, the central London inquiry, which is looking at events leading up to the attacks, heard that Calocane brought the hammer onto the ward on October 10 after a period of leave.
Psychiatrist Dr Ajith Gurusinghe, who is the medical director at the Priory Hospital in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, where Calocane was admitted in October 2021, wrote in his statement: "My recollection of his explanation is he picked this up as he was moving to a new property and needed to hang items."
Counsel to the inquiry Craig Carr put to Dr Gurusinghe that it was a "completely implausible" explanation because Calocane did not have somewhere new to live.
Dr Gurusinghe said: "It was plausible in his mind but we were sceptical.
"I remember having a conversation with a nurse or somebody that we should keep an eye, he may still be paranoid. This was his explanation at the time.
"We didn't go to challenge him on that. If somebody’s insisting that's their version of thoughts or plans, then there’s no point challenging at that point."
Mr Carr asked the witness whether it was a failure that Calocane bringing the hammer was not recorded as an incident, to which he replied: "Yes."
Mr Carr added: "This is somebody who has come back with something that can be used as a weapon and given an explanation that, Dr Gurusinghe, it sounds like you thought was nonsense."
The inquiry heard it was also not reflected in Calocane’s risk assessment.
Dr Gurusinghe said: "That should have been included in the risk assessment. It’s been missed. I admit it’s been missed to be included."
Helen Foster, who was a charge nurse at the Priory Hospital while Calocane was a patient there, also gave evidence on Monday.
She agreed that the hammer incident was "obviously really serious" and "clearly a potential weapon", but could not recall how it was followed up by staff.
She told the inquiry: "I can’t remember having a conversation about it."
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection of the hospital in December 2021 rated it "inadequate" overall, and shared concerns over patient safety.
Calocane, who admitted manslaughter and three counts of attempted murder, was detained indefinitely in a high-security hospital in January 2024 after prosecutors accepted his not guilty pleas to murder.
The inquiry continues.