ShareSaveAsha PatelandWill Jefford,East MidlandsShareSaveSuppliedCalocane put his former flatmate in a headlock after being confronted about mess he made in their shared student accommodationTriple killer Valdo Calocane put his university flatmate in a headlock after being asked to clean up his mess in their shared bathroom, less than two years before he carried out the Nottingham attacks, a public inquiry has heard.
Calocane went on to kill Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar and seriously injure three others in the attacks on 13 June 2023.
In January 2022, Calocane assaulted his former flatmate - known only as Christopher - then stopped him from leaving their accommodation.
On Thursday, the public inquiry also heard how months before the attacks, police took "no steps" to execute a warrant for Calocane's arrest that was still outstanding on the day of the attacks.
The inquiry, led by retired judge Deborah Taylor, is examining the events that led up to the attacks.
More than 100 witnesses, including police officers and mental health workers - who Calocane was known to - are giving evidence over the next eight weeks.
Calocane was a mature student at the University of Nottingham when he became mentally unwell, and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in July 2020.
He moved into private student accommodation Raleigh Park in Lenton, Nottingham - where Christopher and other students lived - in October 2021.
By then, he had already been sectioned under the Mental Health Act multiple times and been involved with a number of incidents - including assaulting another student, Sebastian, in July of that year.
Giving evidence to the inquiry, Christopher said Calocane was initially "very quiet" and "kept to himself".
However, he said between December 2021 and the following January, Calocane's behaviour deteriorated, becoming more withdrawn.
Christopher added flatmates also raised concerns amongst themselves about the state Calocane was leaving one of the two shared bathrooms in the accommodation.
On 15 January 2022, Christopher confronted Calocane and asked him to clean the bathroom but he "brushed it off" and went into his room.
Later that day, Christopher asked Calocane again if he had cleaned up.
"He said 'no I'm not going to, what are you going to do about it?'," Christopher told the hearing.
"That upset me and I thought it was rude so I said 'I will call you a dirty [expletive]."
"He came flying across the room, threw a punch, I dodged the punch and then we were wrestling," he said.
"He ended up getting me in a headlock and then I was asking him 'please let go of me, let go of me'."
Christopher was heard asking for someone to "ring the police" during the assaultIn a short video clip shown to the inquiry, Calocane could be seen with his arm around the neck of his flatmate, holding him in a headlock while Christopher was heard asking for someone to "ring the police".
Other flatmates could also be heard saying "Valdo, stop it".
Calocane eventually let go and Christopher called the police, but shortly after, Calocane stopped him from leaving the flat.
In a second video played to the inquiry, Christopher could be heard saying "I just want to go" and "he ain't gonna let me leave for some reason".
Christopher told the inquiry Calocane looked at him "intensely" following the assault.
"I found it very unsettling, very unusual," he said.
"That was perhaps what distressed me the most - is that I felt I could not relate and I couldn't see what he was thinking," he said.
The inquiry heard Calocane was not arrested or charged in relation to that incident and Christopher believed pursuing a conviction would be a "waste of time".
Christopher said when police initially attended, he was told by an officer: "You don't have enough for ABH because you don't have any real injuries, this is going to be common assault".
He told the inquiry: "I felt like it was dismissive in a way, trying to basically tell me that nothing was going to happen."
After informing the University of Nottingham about the incident, on 18 January, Christopher and the other flatmates were assisted in leaving the accommodation - "creeping out" as Calocane slept.
The inquiry heard the students were told Calocane was "getting the care he needs" following the incident.
The statement of another of Calocane's flatmates - known only as Sam - was read to the inquiry.
When Sam first heard about the Nottingham attacks, he thought Calocane might have been responsible, he said.
He added in his statement: "I felt shocked when I found out about the attacks - it didn't feel real at first," he said.
"It's not something you expect to be close to. I was annoyed at the whole situation
"I've now watched the documentaries - we weren't aware of his medical history.
"The whole picture looks a lot different from what we knew at that time."
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