Attacks victim's son runs to keep dad's legacy alive
BBCThe eldest son of the school caretaker killed during the Nottingham attacks says training for the Robin Hood Half Marathon helped him cope with the trauma of the public inquiry into the killings.
Ian Coates, 65, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, were fatally stabbed by Valdo Calocane, who also seriously injured Wayne Birkett, Sharon Miller and Marcin Gawronski in the early hours of 13 June 2023.
Darren Coates, 45, is raising money for Huntingdon Academy in Nottingham, where his father was a site manager and caretaker for seven years.
He is due to take part in the 13.1-mile (21km) race on Sunday, alongside the mother of Grace O'Malley-Kumar and their inquiry legal team.
The statutory judge-led Nottingham Inquiry heard from 164 witnesses during 14 weeks of harrowing evidence between February and June 2026, as well as two days of closing statements from core participants earlier this month.
The hearings scrutinised authorities that had interactions with Calocane in the years before the attacks, laying bare failures and missed opportunities by agencies, including the NHS and police.
The inquiry heard Calocane had been sectioned four times under the Mental Health Act and had a history of police interactions linked to violent incidents before the killings.
Calocane is serving an indefinite hospital order, after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, due to his paranoid schizophrenia, in January 2024.
The bereaved families sat in the hearing room at Mary Ward House, London, every day for three months, hearing testimony and evidence that they said was painful to listen to.
Darren Coates said being at the inquiry impacted his mental health, but said training for a half marathon helped him cope with the trauma of what he saw and heard during the public inquiry.
"I'm putting it all into that at the minute, after the inquiry, it's helped me concentrate on something.
"That's my focus now."
Darren hopes to raise £50,000 for Huntingdon Academy.
He visited the school recently, where he met with pupils and staff to discuss where the money could be spent.
"It's a big thing for me, but it's for my dad, it's for the school and it's given me something to get up and go for, especially meeting the kids."
He said he wanted to help fund new play equipment for the playground, to make break times fun for the pupils and to give back to the school that meant so much to his father.
Rebecca Riley, head of school, said Ian Coates used to spend a lot of time helping to bring fun and joy into the school.
"The fact that Darren is here, raising money to invest in the joyful part of school and play, it's so important for our children and Ian knew that, that's why he went the extra mile," she said.
Darren added: "I'm trying to keep my dad's legacy going."
Nottingham City Council has confirmed the authority will match Darren's fundraising if it reaches £25,000.
The Nottingham Inquiry findings will be published by the chair, retired judge, Her Honour Deborah Taylor, by May 2027.
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