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Father of Nottingham stabbing victim troubled by 'missed opportunities'

The father of student Grace O'Malley-Kumar - who was killed in the Nottingham stabbings last year - has said his family will be "forever" troubled by the "missed opportunities" to potentially prevent the attack.

Valdo Calocane, 32, was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia when he stabbed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, to death with a dagger in Nottingham in the early hours of 13 June last.

Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order at Nottingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.

Speaking outside court after Calocane's sentencing, Dr Sanjoy Kumar said: "While we have never questioned this man's diagnosis, the lack of toxicology, contemporaneous mental health assessment, as well as missed opportunities to divert his lethal path will forever play on our minds and this requires further review.

"We will look for answers regarding missed opportunities to intervene and prevent this horrendous crime."

Grace O'Malley-Kumar's mother Sinead O'Malley listens to statements being read outside Nottingham Crown Court today

Grace was the daughter of Irish-born, London-based consultant anaesthetist Dr Sinéad O'Malley, who has spoken previously of her grief since the attack and called for mandatory prison sentences for anyone caught carrying a knife.

Dr Kumar said his family will never come to terms with the loss of their daughter, who he described as a gift to the country.

He also paid tribute to the support the family had received in London and Ireland.

Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates died in the attacks

Meanwhile, Barnaby Webber's mother said that "true justice has not been served today".

In a statement read on the court steps after sentencing, Emma Webber said: "We as a devastated family have been let down by multiple agency failings and ineffectiveness."

She said the local police chief had "blood on his hands" because an arrest warrant for Calocane was outstanding for nine months prior to the attacks.

Barnaby Webber's mother Emma Webber read a statement outside Nottingham Crown Court

She added that the families were not consulted about the decision by prosecutors to accept a plea of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.

Ms Webber said they were railroaded.

Additional reporting PA