00:00It's been a year and a half since Valdu Kalakain killed three people and attempted to kill
00:06three more in a space of attacks in Nottingham.
00:11University students Barnaby Weber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and 65-year-old caretaker
00:17Ian Coates were fatally stabbed on a June morning in 2023.
00:23Kalakain had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020.
00:28Last year, he was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after admitting manslaughter
00:33by diminished responsibility.
00:35Today, the families of the victims spoke of the widespread failures that led to their
00:41loved ones' deaths.
00:42The police, they failed us.
00:44The NHS, they failed us.
00:46The mental health of Nottinghamshire failed us.
00:48Like, who did we turn to?
00:50Barney, Grace and Ian would be here today if those concerned across those agencies had
00:57just done their jobs properly.
01:00An independent review published yesterday found that Kalakain was not forced to take
01:05prescribed anti-psychotic drugs because he did not like needles.
01:09Kalakain's care coordinator had a caseload above the recommended limit, staff would not
01:14visit Kalakain alone because of his violence and aggression, and he was discharged from
01:19mental health care without a face-to-face assessment.
01:23It is now confirmed by the Care Quality Commission, the Mental Health Trust, the NHS Homicide
01:31Review, that brother Kalakain was not a treatment-resistant schizophrenic.
01:39He simply failed to take his medication.
01:43A member of staff who worked at the trust which treated Kalakain says she was silenced
01:48when she tried to blow the whistle over safety concerns.
01:52I was ostracised and victimised by the organisation.
01:55I felt powerless.
01:57I felt pushed to the brink and I even considered taking my own life.
02:06If staff don't feel confident to speak up, it will definitely happen again.
02:10There will be another disaster at the trust.
02:13The NHS trust involved has expressed condolences to the victims.
02:17I want to be clear that my thoughts are with the families of Gracie and Barnaby who so
02:23sadly lost their lives.
02:24We are an organisation that accepts where we have made mistakes and where those missed
02:29opportunities are.
02:30We have changed how we discharge people with severe mental illness from our organisation.
02:36Things are very different than when Valdir Kalakain was discharged.
02:40Last year, Sir Keir Starmer promised a statutory public inquiry if Labour took office.
02:45The families will meet with the government next week to make sure that promise is kept.
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