13 June 2024 , 11:43
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Families of the Nottingham attack victims have attended a vigil one year on from the tragic killings.
Grace O'Malley Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates were all killed by knifeman Valdo Calocane who went on a spree of terror in the city in the early hours of June 13 last year, in which several others were also injured. Grace and Barnaby, both students at Nottingham University, had been heading home from a night out when they were stabbed by Calocane, who went on to hijack school caretaker Mr Coates, 65, in his van leaving him for dead on a pavement.
Sinead O’Malley, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, the parents of Grace O’Malley-Kumar (Ioannis Alexopoulos/LNP)
Charlie Webber and Dr Sanjoy Kumar react as they lay flowers on Ilkeston road in Nottingham where Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar were found dead (Ioannis Alexopoulos/LNP)Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January, after a court heard the 32-year-old had paranoid schizophrenia had the time. A vigil was held at the scene on Thursday as people gathered in remembrance.
Flowers were laid on the city's Ilkestone Road where medical student Grace, and Barnaby, both 19, were killed. Her parents Sinead O'Malley and Dr Sanjoy Kumar looked visibly emotional in the touching vigil.
Both parents embraced Barnaby’s dad David, 52, as they laid flowers. Meanwhile Barnaby's brother Charlie, 16, and Grace’s brother James also left floral tributes at the site of the slayings. They were joined by hundreds of friends and fellow students, many of them in tears, for the emotional vigil.
Terrified witness says 'man went up in air' in horror Nottingham attack
Bunches of roses, as well as single stems, were left on the pavement where the teenagers had died. Afterwards relatives of the students chatted with those who had come to pay their respects. They included Grace’s university hockey teammates, many of whom wore their full kits for the tribute.
Grace's hockey team mates were among the hundreds there leaving flowers at the scene on Thursday (Ioannis Alexopoulos/LNP)Members of the university’s cricket team – which Barnaby was a part of – also took part in the emotional occasion. David Webber walked with his late son’s pet dog, Dougie, on a lead, and later movingly embraced Grace’s parents. The families will join relatives of Ian Coates at a vigil at the University of Nottingham later.
It comes as Barnaby's mum Emma told how she still looks over her son's final messages before his death one year on. Mrs Webber spoke to The Mirror, saying how they had shared a joke about him being hungover and needing a job shortly before his life was cruelly robbed from him.
"Barney only drove back up to Nottingham on the Tuesday before, to play bloody cricket," she revealed. "That was the only reason he was there, to play cricket. My last message to him was ‘When are you coming back? We’re looking forward to you coming back’."
Families of the victims have already criticised Calocane's sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court in January. Furious loved ones slammed the hospital order as "too lenient" after it was passed.
The sentencing was later referred to the High Court, where senior judges in May upheld the decision. Emma Webber spoke of the moment she first saw Calocane in court, saying how she had wanted to smash her hands against the glass of the dock and scream.
Grace O'Malley Kumar was walking home on Ilkeston Road, Nottingham, when she and pal Barnaby were killed (Nottinghamshire Police / SWNS)
Caretaker Ian Coates was days away from retirement when he was killed (PA)"Nothing can prepare you for having to sit in that kind of environment when that monster is feet away from you,” she said. She also revealed how Calocane's family had reached out to all three families through the police, in an email she said she couldn't bring herself to read.
“I know the contents of it, an overview, because James Coates and Sanjoy and Sinead have told me. From what I understand they don’t take any responsibility. They blame the authorities and the agency failings.
Barnaby's family have called for a tougher sentence for Calocane, revealing how they feel no sympathy for him or his family (PA)“I was thinking I will probably read it after the anniversary has passed. What I don’t want to do is inflict more anger upon myself. I have no compassion for the Calocane family. His mother hasn’t lost her son. He is still living and breathing. He is still there."
Lawyers for victims of the Post Office scandal meanwhile have offered to fight pro-bono for further justice for the Webbers and other two families. Solicitor Neil Hudgell and barrister Tim Moloney KC agreed to take on their case after meeting with them in London recently. They will formally begin work on Friday.
'I heard awful, blood-curdling screams as people were stabbed' in incident