Parents of killed Nottingham student Grace O'Malley-Kumar shocked her body was tested for alcohol
The parents of a teenager killed by a paranoid schizophrenic have told Good Morning Britain that their daughter's body was tested for drugs and alcohol, but her killer was not subjected to similar tests.
Grace O'Malley-Kumar was stabbed alongside fellow University of Nottingham student, Barnaby Webber, and school caretaker, Ian Coates by Valdo Calocane in June last year. Three more people were injured in the attack.
Now the families of the victims have revealed Calocane was not tested for drugs and alcohol on the night of his arrest.
Speaking to GMB Dr Sinead O'Malley, Grace's mother, said "He drove a van throughout Nottingham City Centre and he wasn't breathalysed.
"It beggars belief that a toxicology report was done on our children and Ian Coates but they were not done on Valdo Calocane just because he denied having done any drugs or alcohol.
"From our point of view as parents, Calocane has to stay in hospital forever or prison forever.
"We would have preferred that he was charged with murder because there were outstanding parts of the investigation which might have negated the opportunity to plead diminished responsibility."
On Tuesday 23 January, prosecutors accepted his pleas of not guilty to murder and guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to "serious" mental illness.
The victims' families continue to call for a public inquiry to address the handling of the case.
Dr Sanjoy Kumar, Grace's father, added, "Not taking drugs and alcohol samples from a driver is absolutely ridiculous!"
"I worry about this person coming out."
Grace's bereaved parents said it was 'ridiculous' that their son might have to 'continue fighting' against his sister's killer being released in the future.
"For the rest our life going forward we will have to write to the Minister of Justice to ensure that doesn't happen and when we're gone it'll be our son."
Calocane was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2019. He'd been sectioned four times and was known to refuse medication, something the prosecution argued led to a further decline in his mental health.
The health secretary has now ordered a review into the mental health services at the NHS trust where he was treated.
As well as being known to mental health services, there was an outstanding warrant for Calocane's arrest after he assaulted a police officer in 2021.
"The only way to get the truth and people to give you an answer back is through a public inquiry. It is the only way we'll uncover what happened.
"It's for public protection and so that this never happens again to any other family."
The government hasn't responded to calls for a public inquiry.
ITV News Central asked Nottinghamshire Police to confirm the breathalysing of the victims killed by Valdo Calocane and in a statement the Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: "We referred ourselves to the IOPC on 5 February regarding the concerns raised by the families.
"We are waiting to hear back from the IOPC on their decision. It wouldn’t be appropriate to make any comments until the review is carried out and the findings reported."