Mother of Nottingham stabbing sufferer Barnaby Webber breaks down in tears as she calls his killer ‘a monster’ who attacked his victims ‘in essentially the most brutal means’

Nottingham stabbing victim Barnaby Webber’s mother broke down in tears as she labelled his killer ‘a monster’ who attacked his victims in the most brutal way.

Emma Webber and Dr. Sanjoy Kumar, the father of Gracey O’Malley Kumar, appeared on Good Morning Britain today before a particularly ‘tough’ hearing in the public inquiry which will delve into the days leading up to the the atrocity.

Given she has already had to leave the hearing in distress on previous days, presenter Paul Brand asked Mrs Webber if she will be able to sit through today’s proceedings.

Pointing at Dr Kumar, she said: ‘You’re much more able, which I commend you for.’

Breaking down in tears, she added: ‘I get angry with myself because Barnaby had to go through this horror and I’m his mum.

‘Even now, we didn’t realise just how brutal this monster was with them. 

‘Like, as a parent the worst thing you could possibly imagine, that’s what happened to my child, to his daughter, to Darren, Lee and James’s dad [Ian Coates] in the most brutal way. 

‘I mean, this is a monster. He was well built, he was planned. 

‘And I can’t sit in there and hear it and I feel like it’s failing Barnaby.’

Kate Garraway lent over to comfort her and said: ‘You shouldn’t be having to.’

In the early hours of June 13, 2023, paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane fatally stabbed University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Gracey O’Malley Kumar on Ilkeston Road in Radford.

Calocane, who was 31 at the time, then tried to break into a hostel before flagging down 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates, stabbing him to death and stealing his van.

The dual Guinea-Bissau and Portuguese national then drove the stolen van into a three people waiting at a bus stop in the city centre, injuring them all and leaving one in critical condition.

Around an hour an a half into his unprovoked rampage, Calocane was found, Tasered, and arrested on suspicion of murder.

In January 2024, he was sentenced to indefinite detention at a high-security hospital after denying three counts of murder and instead pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility and three further counts of attempted murder.

Nearly three years on, information about how police and the mental health services mishandled Calocane is still coming out.

Mrs Webber told the show: ‘I firmly believe Grace, Barnaby and Ian would still be here had those different officers over both forces done their jobs properly over all of those instances.’

The inquiry previously heard the devastating killings were the result of ‘entirely predictable structural, systemic and individual failure’.

Calocan had been sectioned four times in the three years before the stabbing but he was repeatedly released back into the community despite concerns about his deteriorating behaviour.

Some of his worrying behaviours included visiting MI5 headquarters demanding to speak with officials, and bringing a hammer to a hospital ward – as well as concerns he was not taking medication properly after being sectioned multiple times.

His behaviour was so troubling that a doctor warned in July 2020 that Calocane ‘will end up killing someone’, yet he was discharged two weeks later.

There were multiple occasions where police were involved after Calocane became violent – this included leaving a woman with a major back injury after she leapt from a first floor window to escape him.

Five students also moved out of their houseshare after becoming so concerned about Calocane’s violent unpredictability, the inquiry heard. But he never faced conviction until he struck in 2023.

Calocane’s mother repeatedly flagged her own concerns about her son’s behaviour, and he was sectioned four times.