Barnaby Webber's mum slams Nottingham Police officer who wrote graphic details in WhatsApp group

The mother of a Nottingham attack victim has penned an open letter to the police officers involved in a WhatsApp group where her son's injuries were described as being "properly butchered". Emma Webber, mother of Taunton teenager Barnaby Webber was one of three people tragically killed by Valdo Calocane, expressed her distress over the graphic details shared about the incident.

Barnaby, 19, along with Grace O'Malley-Kumar, also 19, and 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates, fell victim to Calocane's attacks, which took place in Nottingham on June 13 last year. Calocane, 32, who was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was handed an indefinite hospital order for manslaughter due to diminished responsibility this January at Nottingham Crown Court.

In her letter addressed to "the WhatsApp group of police officers who discussed the attack", Mrs Webber reveals her anguish caused by the "callous, degrading and desensitised manner" in which the comments were made, stating that it has inflicted "more trauma than you can imagine".

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She voiced her frustration at being denied a private and anonymous conversation with the group. In her comments, she asked: "When you say 'a couple of students have been properly butchered' did you stop to think about the absolute terror that they felt in the moment when they were ambushed and repeatedly stabbed by a man who had planned his attack and lay waiting in the shadows for them.

"When you say 'innards out and everything' did you think about the agony they felt and the final thoughts that went through their minds as this vicious individual inflicted wounds so serious that they had no chance of surviving." Did you relate the excited urgency in your message of spreading 'big news' and preparing for a busy shift that countless lives had been destroyed forever."

Mrs Webber expressed her "utmost respect" for the emergency services while stating that anyone "who can witness the details of such a horror as happened in the early hours of the 14th June 2023; and refer to lost children as butchered animals; should seriously consider their position".

Mrs Webber understands that the officer who penned the message has received a management warning. She said she does not know how many officers were in the group.

Addressing the author of the message directly, she implored: "I pray you will read this and pause for a while. Dig a little deeper for compassion and care. Show the respect in the future that you did not afford Barney."

"My aim is not to cause undue shame, or to have anyone publicly vilified; there's no need to add yet more pain; I just hope that by reaching out to educate and explain, my voice might make a difference. If you feel able and wish to make contact know that you can and it will be kept fully private. I have written this open letter only because of the actions of your Chief Constable and her senior leadership team."

On May 8, Calocane's sentence will undergo review at the Court of Appeal, following Attorney General Victoria Prentis classifying it as "unduly lenient".

Mrs Webber has been vocal about her "lost faith" in Nottinghamshire Police's leadership and has urged the chief constable to step down while allegations of failings are being examined. Controversy arose when the son of the force's head, Kate Meynell, was discovered to be part of the police WhatsApp group where explicit details about the killings were shared.

Both the police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and the College of Policing are investigating the force due to criticism over its handling of the case. An internal investigation of the force uncovered that 11 staff members accessed data about the case without any legitimate reason, leading to disciplinary action against three individuals, whilst eight instead received "performance interventions".

Earlier this year, Ms Meynell expressed her shock, stating she was "horrified" after discovering that one of her officers had viewed bodycam footage showing the aftermath of the attacks. The special constable involved was dismissed in December.

In a separate incident, Police Constable Matthew Gell received a final written warning following a misconduct hearing in January, which concluded he had breached confidentiality standards by sharing details about the case via text message. Another member of the staff is set to undergo misconduct proceedings as well.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesperson informed The Times: "A member of police staff has been dismissed following a gross misconduct hearing on April 5 for the misuse of force systems and breaching data protection by accessing information relating to recent homicide investigations."

They added, "The investigation showed that the police staff member used police systems to research the offender, Valdo Calocane."

They added: "There was no evidence that she viewed body-worn video or CCTV in relation to the case. All hearings relating to police staff misconduct are held in private. It would be inappropriate to comment further due to the ongoing independent investigation by the IOPC and the review by the College of Policing."