The suspect in the attack that killed three people in Nottingham will await trial in remand custody. The man, who will have Portuguese nationality, was heard this Saturday in court, but, according to the AFP agency, he only spoke to say his name and date of birth.
He introduced himself as Adam Mendes, a different name from the one revealed by British police: Valdo Calocane.
He is a former student of the university where, on Tuesday, he perpetrated the attack in which three people died. The suspect faces charges of three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
The man returns to Nottingham court next Monday.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the parents, originally from Guinea-Bissau, worked on the island of Madeira and obtained Portuguese nationality.
The couple will later have moved to the UK with their three children and the suspect will have resident status as a European citizen.
The formal charges relate to the deaths of Barnaby’s University of Nottingham students Philip John Webber and Grace Sashi O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Robert Coates, 65, all stabbed to death in the early hours of the morning. Tuesday in Nottingham. .
The three counts of attempted murder concern three other people who were struck by a car, one of whom remains in hospital in serious condition.
Nottinghamshire Police Chief Kate Meynell said the allegations “are a significant development and are the result of our extensive investigation into these horrific incidents” in the English city, some 200 kilometers north of London.
“We are well aware of the deep emotion felt around these tragic events and the high level of interest not only in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire but across the country,” he said in a statement.
However, it warned that “posting harmful information online about an ongoing case could constitute contempt of court and, in the most serious cases, could result in a failed trial.”
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Portuguese Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho said he was in contact with the British authorities.
“We recently found out, this morning, that the suspect apparently has a Portuguese nationality. We are looking into the matter, but we will be in close contact with the British authorities in this regard”, he stressed.
Police believe the suspect attacked two 19-year-old Nottingham University students with a knife and killed another 65-year-old man before stealing their van.
He then tried to run over three people on different occasions, with one still hospitalized in serious condition.
The police detained the suspect using a ‘taser’ when the vehicle was stopped.
Source: TSF