‘My son could so easily have been another Nottingham killer’

Two men with paranoid schizophrenia carried out stabbings in different attacks weeks before Valdo Calocane’s violent acts in Nottingham, all under the care of the same NHS trust, the BBC discovered.

Josef Easom-Cooper and Junior Dietlin attacked and injured six men in these incidents occurring in Nottinghamshire in 2023.

Not long after, Calocane, who also suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, fatally stabbed Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates on 13 June 2023.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust faced criticism regarding its management of Calocane, apologizing for any shortcomings in care standards to those affected.

On 9 April 2023, Easom-Cooper attacked a worshipper leaving an Easter Sunday service at St Stephen’s Church in Sneinton.

The BBC interviewed his victim, a man in his 40s, who survived the incident but chose not to participate further.

Shelly recounted that her son had been under the care of child and adolescent mental health services (Camhs) in Nottingham during his teenage years.

“I often found knives in his room… sometimes even an axe,” Shelly revealed.

She documented these findings with photos and reported them to the police and mental health services.

Shelly noted that his condition severely worsened when Easom-Cooper turned 18.

In a psychotic episode, he left Highbury Hospital just before being sectioned, intending to harm a friend before being restrained.

Following this, he was sectioned in July 2022 for three months; however, Shelly warned staff he wasn’t ready for discharge.

“He wasn’t ready for release,” she says. “He refused to take his medication— it was like a ticking time bomb.”

Placed in housing managed by a housing association, Shelly observed he was deteriorating over the next seven months and was non-compliant with his medication under the trust’s community team.

Shelly expressed her shock upon learning about her son’s violent act.

“I knew this was going to happen,” she said.

“I genuinely apologize for what occurred. He is my son, and what he did fills me with shame.”

She believes the stabbing could have been averted had her son’s condition been taken with more seriousness.

“It’s sickening that it takes a person losing their life or being attacked for someone to finally think, ‘we should act’.”

“The mental health services in Nottingham consistently let him down and likewise the victim,” she expressed.

In December 2023, Easom-Cooper was sentenced to a hospital order.

Nine weeks prior to Easom-Cooper’s attack, Junior Dietlin stabbed five random individuals during a weekend in Nottingham and Mansfield in February 2023.

In what a prosecutor characterized as “an unusual case,” Dietlin single-handedly attacked five men, running away each time after stabbing them once in the bicep.

One of the victims, Keith Grafton, a former police officer, was the victim while walking home from a pub.

“Suddenly, I felt a sharp jab on my right arm… I realized I had been stabbed immediately,” recalled the 71-year-old.

Afterward, the attacker fled before he could react.

While he did not suffer long-term damage, Keith stated he has since been “very cautious” about being out late.

Dietlin received a hospital order, but Keith expressed disappointment that he did not receive a prison sentence.

The BBC accessed a report by the trust regarding its interactions with Dietlin.

It revealed that during a four-week stay at Highbury Hospital in June 2022, Dietlin was involved in violent incidents and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

The report indicated that his family “could not express the desire for him to stay in the hospital longer”.

Moreover, it was noted that after discharge, he took his medication “very irregularly”.

His family felt they could observe subtle behavior changes that signaled he was unwell, but community staff concluded there were “no signs of psychosis” during visits.

Dietlin’s first victim was stabbed on 8 February 2023, a day after he had staff visits for medication drop-off.

On 11 and 12 February, he attacked four more individuals.

Following the events, the trust conducted an “initial management review,” from which they found “no learning,” as per the report.

In a response, the trust stated that these reviews are completed promptly to detect any immediate learning while a comprehensive investigation is underway.

A recent assessment commissioned by NHS England regarding Calocane’s care unveiled significant failings by the trust.

The review mentioned Dietlin’s case among 15 instances where patients either under the trust’s care or discharged from it committed violent acts from 2019 to 2023.

The independent evaluation established that there was “a lack of a diligent approach to risk management” within the trust.

Keith Grafton stated he was unaware of Dietlin’s mental health history or that he had been involuntarily detained previously.

He considers the decision to place his attacker back into the community a significant error by the trust, which he holds responsible for his incident.

“Had they done their job appropriately, this wouldn’t have happened,” he noted.

The city of Nottingham faced unprecedented disruption on 13 June 2023, following the attacks orchestrated by Calocane, sentenced to a hospital order in January 2024.

Before the attacks, he had been sectioned four times within two years but was released by the trust due to “disengagement” from its community mental health services in September 2022.

This meant Calocane had no contact with mental health services or his GP for around nine months before the murders occurred.

The details of his medical history were discussed in a BBC Panorama documentary and a report commissioned by the NHS, indicating that “the system failed” with the triple murderer.

Shelly remarked that the missed opportunities in Calocane’s care resonated with her son’s situation.

“When I learned the details, it struck me how easily it could have been Josef,” she reflected.

“Those victims had their lives unjustly taken because we’re not dedicating enough resources to ensure people are fit to be out in public.”

Marjorie Wallace, CEO of mental health charity SANE, emphasized the findings displayed that had the trust gleaned insights from Dietlin and Easom-Cooper, Calocane’s murders could have been avoided.

“Their failures stemmed from not listening to families, neglecting to monitor the individual’s condition, and prematurely discharging them while still unwell,” she stated.

Neil Hudgell, a lawyer representing the families of Calocane’s victims, stated that the BBC’s findings highlight “that very little ultimately resonates with mental health trusts, and possibly had they learned adequately over time, the tragic events of 13 June 2023 could have been avoided.”

“The families continue to grieve over the heartbreaking and unnecessary loss of their loved ones,” he added.

In a statement, Dr. Sue Elcock, deputy chief executive and executive medical director at the NHS trust, assured that an investigation follows any serious incident to identify areas of improvement.

“We apologize to those affected for any facets of our care that did not maintain the high standards our patients expect and deserve,” she continued.

The statement further mentioned that the trust is now implementing a more stringent patient discharge protocol and focusing more sharply on assessing potential risks that patients may pose to others.

Dr. Elcock added, “We have made considerable changes to enhance family involvement, and our family liaison team is engaged in all discussions.”

On Thursday, the government announced that a public inquiry into the attacks has commenced, with a report expected within two years containing recommendations to avert similar incidents.

• 8 February 2023: Junior Dietlin stabs his first victim near his home in Nottingham.
• 11 and 12 February 2023: Dietlin attacks four other strangers.
• 9 April 2023: A worshipper is stabbed outside a church in Nottingham by Josef Easom-Cooper.
• 11 April 2023: Easom-Cooper is charged with grievous bodily harm.
• 13 June 2023: Valdo Calocane fatally stabs Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates.
• December 2023: Easom-Cooper is sentenced to a hospital order.
• 25 January 2024: Calocane receives a hospital order after admitting manslaughter and attempted murder.
• 12 April 2024: Dietlin is indefinitely detained under a hospital order.