Triple killer thought voices in head were ‘punishment for Covid lockdown breach’
The inquiry continues
Paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane thought the voices in his head were a punishment from the Government for breaking Covid-19 lockdown rules, an inquiry has heard.
The former student, who went on to kill three people in a violent rampage, stopped taking his antipsychotic medication because he believed thoughts were being inserted into his mind.
Calocane was sectioned four times before he stabbed to death undergraduates Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and grandfather Ian Coates, 65, in the early hours of June 13 2023 before trying to murder three pedestrians with a van in Nottingham.
On Friday, Dr Austin Nwawueze, who was a specialty doctor involved in Calocane’s care during his time at the mental health facility Victoria House in Darlington, Co Durham, in 2021, gave evidence to the inquiry, which is examining events leading up to the fatal attacks.
Another doctor’s report, shown to the inquiry, said: “Valdo believes that he is subject to harassment by the Government through interference with his mind by inserting thoughts there which are not his, and by transmitting ‘voices’ to his head that run a commentary on his actions and abilities, and are generally unpleasant.
“Valdo believes that this harassment is done as a punishment for him breaking the lockdown rules.
“Valdo indicates he has done research on the matter and does not believe that these experiences are contributable to mental illness, hence he stopped taking his antipsychotic medication.”
Counsel to the inquiry Lance Baynham asked Dr Nwawueze whether it is an issue for a psychotic patient to be conducting research that “might have the effect of appearing to validate those delusional beliefs”.
The doctor, whose only direct involvement with Calocane was during a ward round on September 28 2021, said: “If he did conduct the research, then he might be trying to prove the points to say, ‘I’m not psychotic, I don’t need to take medication’.”
He later added: “The patient’s unwell and a lot of the things they tell you, most times, are not founded on truth.
“So usually he says the NHS is putting things in his mind. That’s not founded on truth.
“So in that sense, if he said he was doing research I would assume that that’s probably tied to the fact that he’s unwell and it’s a delusion in itself.”
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.