Bereaved Sons Speak at Nottingham Inquiry

0:00On March 24th, the Nottingham Inquiry into the 2023 Attacks heard emotional testimony this week from the sons of Ian Coats, the 65-year-old school caretaker stabbed to death by Valdo Callacane, James and Lee Coats were the first bereaved family members to speak, explaining how they learned of their father's killing through an Instagram. Message from a family friend, Callacane first attacked university students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar in the early hours of June 13th. He then walked nearly two miles, stabbed Ian Coats on Magdala Road around 514 AM, stole his van, and plowed into three pedestrians in the city center. James spotted news of a killing near his home through workchats, but the Instagram alert hit hardest with the friend and tears thinking it was a... Traffic crash. The brothers frantically called relatives, the not-emergency line, and even 999 piecing together details amid city lockdowns. Police reached out to the family just 10 minutes before the Chief Constable's public

1:02press conference that afternoon. Ian's partner, Elaine Newton, was initially told he died in a road accident, only later learning the truth about the stabbing, leaving her reeling. From conflicting info, the inquiry, chaired by retired judge Debra Taylor at Mary Wardhouse in London, keeps digging into mischances before the rampage, and the chaotic aftermath as more families share their stories.