Families of Nottingham stabbing victims Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber ... trends now
The families of Nottingham stabbing victims Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber have recalled the moment they were told about the horrific attack which took them from their lives.
The pair of teens, both 19, were repeatedly stabbed by Valdo Calocane as they walked home from a night out in June last year, with their attacker going on to kill school caretaker Ian Coates.
The parents of Barnaby have recalled they were left panicking after news of a major incident in the city filtered through on television, before receiving a heartbreaking phone call from the police saying their son was 'deceased' which left his mother 'screaming' at the side of the road.
Barnaby's brother Charlie also revealed how even nine months after the attack he still struggled to enter his older sibling's room at their family home due to the memories that come flooding back.
Meanwhile, Grace's parents have recalled how they were alerted by her university friends who told them Barnaby had died and that Grace had been with him at the time before the police had a chance to contact them.
And the loved ones of Ian Coates say it felt like the world around them had 'disappeared' after they realised he had been caught up in the attacks that shocked the nation.
The emotional memories were revealed in a new BBC documentary, The Big Cases: The Nottingham Attacks, which aired on Monday evening and chronicled Calocane's horrific crime spree, which also left three other people seriously injured, and the awful impact it has had on the families of his victims.
David Webber, the father of Barnaby Webber, revealed how he began to grow concerned after hearing about the attacks in Nottingham and not hearing from his son
The 19-year-old's mother, Emma Webber, told how she 'screamed' and her world 'went dark' after being told about Barnaby's death
Speaking on the documentary the parents of Barnaby, David and Emma Webber, recalled the dawning horror as they realised their son might have been hurt early on June 13, 2023.
Mr Webber said he had noticed that there was a major incident in Nottingham and 'started thinking 'ok, let me just see where he [Barnaby] is''.
However, when they tried to check on his location using a mobile phone app it showed he wasn't in his halls of residence.
'Ilkeston Road came up on the news and Dave said 'Barney's phone's in Ilkeston Road' and then the phone started moving,' Mrs Webber said.
'My instant reaction was 'he's picked up, why isn't he answering?' I tried to ring it and tried to ring it. And then I saw where it went... it went to the police station.'
The couple then revealed the heartbreaking moment they received a phone call from the police telling them they believed one of the victims was Barnaby.
'When someone says to you 'Are you driving? Can you pull over safely?' You just know that what they're going to tell you is not what you want to hear. And yes, my world just fell apart,' Mr Webber said.
Mrs Webber added: 'They said the word 'deceased' and Barney's driving licence was on him.
'And I remember I got out the car and I screamed. It was just like everything went dark around us.'
Barnaby's parents added that they then had to break the horrible news to Barnaby's younger brother, Charlie, who 'didn't want to believe' that his older sibling was no longer with them.
A picture of Barnaby Webber in his untouched room at his parent's home in Taunton, Devon
Barnaby's younger brother Charlie revealed how nine months after the attacks he still struggled to go into his older sibling's room (pictured)
Sinead O'Malley-Kumar recalled how she had received a phone call from Grace's friend at university telling her that her daughter had been with Barnaby and that Barnaby was dead
James Coates, the son of Calocane's third victim Ian Coates, revealed how he found out his father had died just around the corner from his house
He said: 'How are we going to tell him? How the hell do we tell him that his brother's dead, murdered?'
'As a father you just feel your life's gone. I've lost one and he [Charlie] was just crying his eyes out.'
Mrs Webber added: 'He didn't want to believe it obviously. He kept saying 'it can't be true, it can't be true. I can't live without him'.'
The programme also revealed how Charlie Webber had been so impacted by his brother's death that he had barely gone into Barnaby's room in the nine months after the attack.
