Barnaby Webber's dog hasn't touched cuddly toy since the day he died in stabbing

Barnaby Webber's pet dog, Dougie, left a soft toy on his bed the day he died and hasn't touched it since. The 11-year-old Jack Russell/Chihuahua rescue cross wandered into the teenager's room on June 13 last year, leaving a cuddly giraffe on Barnaby's bed.

It has remained there ever since the tragic day when the former Taunton School student's life was taken by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane in Nottingham, along with Grace O'Malley-Kumar, 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65. Speaking to the Mirror, Barnaby's mother Emma said: "Barney adored Dougie. He called him 'Big Man'."

Every evening, Emma enters his bedroom to switch on his light and returns to turn it off before going to sleep. "It's just something I like to do," she explained. "It's a comforting thing, like he's still there I guess."

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Wherever she goes, she is met with reminders of her eldest child, who was talented at cricket and rugby. I miss him," she expressed. "His presence. Looking at him. Just him being here. He was always there, for 20 years. From being pregnant with him, to him being in the world. Just that space, that emptiness. It doesn't get any easier.

"Grief can be triggered by small things. It can be anything. A song, a memory, a road sign, places you have been. Taunton is a big town but there is not a single part that doesn't have memories of him in one way or another."

Cards and letters simply addressed to "Barney's parents, Taunton" arrive at the family home every day. Well-wishers send gifts including hand-crafted pebbles and crystal dream-catchers.

Emma said: "I suppose in a really dark world, for us it shows us there is some good out there. It's very easy to think everything is bad.

"If I have a pound for every time I hear 'I can't imagine what you're going through' or 'I've got children the same age' or 'It's every parents' nightmare', I'd be able to pay the mortgage off. I don't say it lightly, because I probably say all of those things, but it's painful.

"When I hear 'I can't imagine', what I hear as the parent is 'Thank god my child is safe'. That sounds cruel, but it's not because that's what we feel about it. Having said that, I'd much rather people bothered to say something than not. I was walking the dogs yesterday and a lady stopped and said, 'You're Barnaby's mum aren't you?

"You could see her thinking 'F***, what do I say? ' but she said 'I just want to let you know I'm thinking about you all the time'. She was an older lady, people are just mostly decent. It's a struggle to be in the public eye. It's difficult being recognised. It's not like I'm recognised for winning a medal at the Olympics, or being a great actress.

"I'm being recognised for the tragedy, and people feel genuinely sad for me. But that being said, I'm so admiring of people that make that effort to say something, because that cannot be easy. A lady came up to me in MandS after seeing me come in, and she had bought me a bunch of flowers. Those little things are so kind."

The families of Barnaby, Grace and Ian will join friends and hundreds of students at a vigil at the University of Nottingham today. The shocking failures by police, mental health services and the NHS continue to be under investigation.

Nottinghamshire Police said: "In accordance with existing [NPCC/IOPC] protocol, Nottinghamshire Police is unable to comment directly on matters which are included in the IOPC's ongoing independent investigation into complaints raised by the families of Valdo Calocane's victims."

"This is to avoid possible prejudice to any future potential proceedings and is standard practice which applies to all police forces when cases are under investigation by the IOPC. We are co-operating fully and supporting the IOPC with its enquiries."

Ahead of today's vigil, Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: "On the morning of 13 June 2023, devastating events took place in our city which resulted in the loss of three innocent lives."

"My thoughts today are with the families and friends of Barnaby, Grace, Ian, and those that were seriously injured. "On behalf of all of us at Nottinghamshire Police, I will be laying a wreath and lighting a candle in the city in their memory and paying my respects, alongside other local civic leaders. We will never forget this tragic loss of life."