Families of Nottingham stabbing victims gather on first anniversary

Families of those killed in the Nottingham attack have laid flowers at the spot where the two students were murdered a year ago today.

Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, were stabbed by Valdo Calocane as they walked home after a night out celebrating the end of exams.

The 32-year-old also knifed to death school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, as he made his way to work at Huntingdon Academy in the early hours.

A memorial service took place at the university, with the fathers of Grace and Barnaby recalling how happy they both were in the city.

There was also a two-minute silence and friends lined up to add single flowers to a bouquet near the stage.

Grace’s father was emotional as he recalled how his “hero” daughter “fought valiantly” during the attack.

“She was brave and she was beautiful”, he told the audience.

In a statement ahead of the service, the Webber, Coates and O’Malley-Kumar families said the killings were a “series of catastrophic missed opportunities” which led to “entirely preventable deaths”, and “no stone will be left unturned” in their battle for justice.

Calocane pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility in January.

The families tried to appeal the sentence, but the Court of Appeal ruled in May the sentence was “not unduly lenient” given the medical evidence showed he has paranoid schizophrenia.

Since the attacks, the three families have intensely criticised Nottinghamshire Police and the Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust after it was revealed Calocane had previously been detained in hospital four times, and a warrant for his arrest had been issued months before the killings.

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