Nottingham attacks victims' families braced for 'painful' anniversary of triple killing in city

The families of those killed in the Nottingham attacks last year have said they are bracing themselves for a 'horrendous and painful' first anniversary of the stabbings. In the early hours of June 13, 2023, Valdo Calocane killed University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, before stabbing 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates to death and using his stolen van to attempt to kill three more people.

Paranoid schizophrenic Calocane, 32, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after admitting to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility in January, as well as the attempted murders of Wayne Birkett, Marcin Gawronski and Sharon Miller with Ian Coates' stolen van. A judge recently refused to increase this sentence to include prison time after Attorney General Victoria Prentis referred it to the Court of Appeal for being "unduly lenient"

Although the justice system is now seemingly done with Calocane's case, a series of reviews are ongoing over how many opportunities Nottinghamshire Police and health services had to stop his monstrous crimes. While these may eventually lead to some improvements to the county's troubled public authorities, Barnaby, Grace, and Ian's families will never be the same.

Get the latest news straight to your phone by joining us on WhatsApp

David Webber, whose son Barnaby had moved from Taunton in Somerset to study history in Nottingham, said: "June 13 is locked into my brain along with Emma (Barnaby's mum), Sanjoy, Sinead (the parents of Grace), James, Lee and Darren (Ian's sons).

"It's locked into our brains as a horrendous day. How I'll react, I don't know - it's just going to be a painful day."

Barnaby's mum, speaking on the struggle faced by all three families, said: "Today we will take time and pause to reflect upon that tragic day and remember the souls of the three vibrant, caring, hard-working and much loved family members who are no longer here.

"Today is not the day for fight. But tomorrow (June 14) is. We continue in our dogged pursuit for appropriate justice, individual and organisational accountability and real lasting change to our society and laws that will provide more protection and public safety, appropriate punishment for crimes and proper support for victims and their families."

Barnaby and Grace had been randomly attacked while walking down Ilkeston Road to their student accommodation in Lenton. They were just minutes away from the safety of home when Calocane stabbed Barnaby repeatedly, before turning his attention to Grace, who had been courageously trying to defend her friend.

Mr Webber said his son, who was known in his family as Barney, loved being in Nottingham, but that his cruel death a year ago had made it a challenging place to return to. "Nottingham is bittersweet because it's an incredible place, Barney loved it and I know Grace was the same.

"I'm happy to be back here because this is where Barney was, but also there's a bit of me that doesn't want to be back here. I don't want it to be the place.

"It's about trying to disjoint it. It's hard, because I certainly can't drive back up Ilkeston Road. My brain would probably fry itself if I went up that road. I have to avoid that area at all costs."

Dr Sanjoy Kumar, Grace's dad, said he would be returning to Ilkeston Road to lay a rose where his young daughter had been killed after defending Barnaby in the early hours of June 13. "My plan is to lay a rose where my rose fell," Dr Kumar said.

The GP added: "Nottingham is fantastic, it's one person who marred Nottingham and we must all remember that." Grace's mum Dr Sinéad O'Malley echoed her husband's message, stating her daughter had the "best year of her life" in Nottingham.

"She'd achieved her dream of getting into medical school and starting to become a doctor. What happened to Grace was incredibly sad and unlucky but it was one person, it wasn't a city and it wasn't the people of Nottingham."

Grace and Barnaby's family and friends are expected to attend a memorial event at Djanogly Terrace at the University of Nottingham on Thursday, June 13. This was where an emotional vigil was held on the day after the stabbings last year.

The third victim, Ian Coates, had recently bought a fishing van and was on the verge of a happy retirement when he was senselessly killed on Magdala Road. James Coates, one of his three sons, said he would never come to terms with the loss.

He said: “This last year has been one of the hardest and most testing times I've had to endure. From losing my father, to the inept investigation into his murder and the heart-breaking sentencing that followed, it has definitely been one to forget.

"I have struggled mentally with everything that has happened and continue to do so but I have found some positives in the last twelve months including meeting the Webbers and O'Malley-Kumars, getting to know them and hear stories about Barnaby and Grace. I've also got married and had the honeymoon of a lifetime.

"This horrible, brutal and - as we now know - massively avoidable killing spree has changed my life forever and I will never come to terms with why and how it all came to be. While myself and my family have suffered for the last year my father's killer has lived the life of luxury with free health care, free therapy, free legal aid and a healthy benefits package waiting in his bank account for when he is released. This is something I can't and won't ever understand.”

Nottingham City Council will be holding a minute's silence in its buildings on Thursday. The authority's leader councillor Neghat Khan said: “It’s hard to comprehend that a year has already passed since the terrible and tragic events in our city on June 13. Our thoughts, as ever, are with the families of Ian, Barnaby and Grace at what we know will be an incredibly difficult time for them."

Solicitor Neil Hudgell and barrister Tim Moloney KC have agreed to take on the families' case pro-bono after meeting with them in London recently. The families believe Mr Hudgell and Mr Moloney KC, the latter of whom has represented victims of the Post Office sub-postmaster scandal inquiry, will be able to help them get all-important answers over which local agencies failed their loved ones.