Son Reveals How He Learned His Dad Had Been Stabbed to Death Through Instagram

In a tragic incident that rocked Nottingham in June 2023, Ian Coates, a 65-year-old grandfather and school custodian, lost his life in a random stabbing attack that also claimed the lives of two university students. The attack, which occurred in the early hours of June 13, sent shockwaves through the community and left the family of Coates grappling with the circumstances surrounding his death.

Coates was fatally attacked by Valdo Calocane, a man with a history of mental health issues, including a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. On that fateful morning, Calocane assaulted both Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, students at the University of Nottingham, before targeting Coates just after 5 a.m. The events escalated when Calocane subsequently stole Coates’ van and used it to damage several vehicles in the city centre.

The aftermath of the attack was particularly harrowing for Coates’ family, who learned of his death through social media rather than from official channels. His sons, Lee and James Coates, revealed during a public inquiry into the deaths that they first encountered news of the incident through separate work group chats. While James was at work discussing the incident with colleagues, the family gradually began to piece together the grim details of their father’s fate.

James recounted that it was not until the afternoon that he received a message from a family friend suggesting that his father was involved in a serious incident. Initially sceptical and thinking it might be a hoax, he reached out for confirmation. The friend, who was distraught, informed him that there had been reports linking his father’s demise to a horrific incident in Nottingham.

The urgency for accurate information increased when officers from Nottinghamshire Police contacted James shortly before they planned to hold a press conference. By this time, he and his brother had already gathered much information from social media and news reports about the stabbing. “We had pieced almost everything together ourselves… It’s not right that we had to find out this way,” he reflected on the chaotic way in which they learned of their father’s death.

Adding to the family’s distress, James shared that they learned that their father’s body remained at the scene for several hours before being recovered. “Knowing that he was just around the corner and that we couldn’t go and see him was unbelievably hard,” he said. This revelation surfaced during the inquiry, indicating that Coates’ body was left on-site until about 8:30 p.m. that evening, adding a layer of anguish to the already tragic situation.

Lee Coates also described the lengths they went to in order to gather information from the authorities. Repeated calls to the police’s non-emergency line provided little clarity, and he felt the police response was dismissive. “We were just trying to find out what was going on, and their comments felt rude and disrespectful,” he expressed during the inquiry, illustrating the family’s frustration with the response they received amidst their anguish.

The inquiry also revealed that Coates’ partner, Elaine Newton, was initially misinformed about the nature of the incident. She recounted the agonising delay before being informed that Ian had not been involved in a road accident but had been murdered. “It took four agonising hours before I was finally told the truth. It felt like I was… he’d been killed twice,” she said. Elaine’s account highlights the confusion and heartache that resulted from the mixed messaging from police during such a critical time.

The testimony from Coates’ family members shines a light on the dire need for improved communication protocols from law enforcement in cases of violent crime. The tragic end to Ian Coates’ life has raised pressing questions about mental health, public safety, and the responsibility of police to families impacted by violent incidents.

As Nottingham continues to grapple with the repercussions of this random act of violence, the inquiry seeks to ensure that lessons are learned to prevent similar tragedies in the future. The Coates family’s grief and confusion underscore the profound impact such events have on loved ones, emphasising the urgent need for law enforcement to provide accurate and timely information in the wake of tragedy.