‘God help us all’: Mother of murdered Nottingham student reacts to public failings

The mother of a Nottingham University student killed in the 2023 knife attack has accused authorities of “arrogance, evasion and deflection.”

Emma Webber’s reaction follows evidence of failings presented at the public inquiry into the deaths of her son, Barnaby Webber, as well as Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates.

In June 2023, her son Barnaby was stabbed alongside fellow University of Nottingham student Grace O’Malley-Kumar. Their killer, Valdo Calocane has since pleaded guilty to manslaughter and attempted murder and has been sentence to a secure mental hospital.

The judge-led inquiry is examining a series of failings by the police and mental health services, after it was revealed the killer known to them.

The inquiry heard how mental health professionals chose not to hold him in 2020 after considering the “over-representation” of young black men in detention.

via Unsplash

In September 2021, Police detained Calocane under the Mental Health Act and he was charged with assault after beating an emergency worker.

Calocane failed to turn up to his court date, set for a year after the incident. A warrant was issued but was flagged as a “low priority.” He was never held and the warrant was still outstanding at the time of the Nottingham attacks.

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It was later revealed that weeks before the killing, Calcocane allegedly assaulted two colleagues at a factory in Kegworth, Leicestershire. He was not arrested at the time, but he was reportedly escorted off the site by security.

Emma said: “All of us have been disappointed with most of the witnesses and the evidence they have presented. They are clearly providing ‘their’ well-rehearsed version of the truth. There’s been arrogance, evasion, deflection and an almost total lack of ability to admit what are clear failures. Senior people are the worst.”

“Worryingly, they are all very senior so-called professionals and key decision makers. They have doubled down on their flawed performance and stated they would likely come to the same conclusions and take the same actions again today that they did then. If this really is the ‘best’ of our government agencies, God help us all.”

The inquiry continues on Monday 13th April and is due to run until May. A final report is expected next year.

Nottinghamshire police and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have been contacted for comment. 

If you have been affected by the content of this article, you can call the Nottingham SU Nightline on 01159514985 or contact the Nottingham Trent mental health support team on +44 (0)115 848 6623.

Alternatively, you can contact the Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123, or contact Shout, a 24/7 text messaging service, by texting the word “Shout” to 85258.

Featured image via Unsplash