Victims in Nottingham attacks all suffered stab wounds to the chest, inquest hears

7 July 2023, 17:06 | Updated: 7 July 2023, 17:20

An inquest was opened into the three victims in the Nottingham stabbings.
An inquest was opened into the three victims in the Nottingham stabbings. Picture: Handout/social media

By Jenny Medlicott

Three people who were killed in a set of stabbings in Nottingham suffered stab wounds to the chest, an inquest court has heard.

Ian Coates, 65, Grace O'Malley-Kumar, 19, and Barnaby Webber, 19, sustained stab wounds in June, the inquest heard.

Webber and O'Malley-Kumar were both students at the University of Nottingham, while Coates worked at Huntingdon Academy as a caretaker and was four months off from retirement.

The inquest was provisionally told that the university students both died as a result of a stab wound to the chest and abdomen, while Mr Coates’ was the result of a stab wound only.

Senior coroner Mairin Casey opened the inquest and no family members of the victims attended.

Valdo Calocane, 31, is charged with the murder of the three victims, as well as the attempted murder of three others who he allegedly tried to run over with a van.

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The deaths of those involved attracted thousands of people to vigils held in the city, as they paid tributes to the three lives lost.

History student Webber was described by his family as a “beautiful, brilliant, bright young man, with everything in life to look forward to" as they shared their “complete devastation over his death”.

While medical student O'Malley-Kumar's family described her as a "truly wonderful and beautiful young lady" who would be "so dearly missed".

Mr Coates’ family said his death had “rocked everyone’s world” and that “nobody deserves this but he definitely didn’t”.

A provisional trial date has been scheduled for Calocane on 12 January 2024.