Grace O'Malley-Kumar: Judges refuse to change killer's sentence

Triple killer Valdo Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January after admitting the manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility of three people and the attempted murder of three others in a spate of attacks in Nottingham last year.

The 32-year-old’s sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General in February, with lawyers arguing last week that Calocane – who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia – should be given a “hybrid” order where he would be treated before serving the remainder of the sentence in custody.

Killer - Valdo Calocane (Image: Nottinghamshire Police/PA)

But three senior judges dismissed the bid on Tuesday, stating that while Calocane’s offences caused “unimaginable grief”, his sentence was not unduly lenient as his paranoid schizophrenia was “the sole identified cause of these crimes”.

RELATED: Brother of former Essex cricketer stabbed to death starts charity to end knife crime

Giving their judgment, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said: “There was no error in the approach adopted by the judge.

“The sentences imposed were not arguably unduly lenient.”

Family - Grace O'Malley-Kumar's parents outside the Court of Appeal (Image: PA)

Calocane stabbed former Essex cricketer Grace O’Malley-Kumar and her friend Barnaby Webber, both 19, and 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates in the early hours of June 13 last year.

After killing Mr Coates, Calocane stole his van and hit three pedestrians before being arrested.

He denied murder, which prosecutors later accepted after medical evidence showed he had paranoid schizophrenia.