The brother of a student killed in the Nottingham rampage by Valdo Calocane collected a posthumous degree at what should have been his graduation ceremony today.
Charlie Webber, 17, travelled to Nottingham with his late older brother Barnaby’s godmother, Abi Rawlins to collect the honorary degree in history this afternoon.
The student, who was known as Barney and from Taunton, Somerset, was coming to the end of his first year at the University of Nottingham when he was killed alongside fellow undergraduate Ms O’Malley-Kumar, 19, as they walked home from a nightclub in June 2023.
Medical student Grace O’Malley-Kumar received a posthumous degree at a separate ceremony last Thursday.
In a tribute read out by Ms Rawlins on behalf of Barnaby’s parents Emma and David, the bereaved couple told how it was ‘just too painful’ for them to attend the ceremony.
They added: ‘As many parents who are sat here today will know, this is a day that you dream of for your children.
‘A pivotal moment in their lives when they take the next steps into their future. That Barney’s future was so horrifically taken from him on June 13th 2023 is unimaginable cruelty.
‘What we do know is that in the all too precious time he had with us all he made a difference, and he had impact.
In a tribute read out by Ms Rawlins on behalf of Barnaby’s parents Emma and David, the bereaved couple told how it was ‘just too painful’ for them to attend the ceremony
Barnaby Webber received a posthumous degree today – just over two years after he was fatally attacked in Nottingham
Grace O’Malley-Kumar heroically tried to pull killer Valdo Calocane off her friend, who was known as Barney, before the crazed 32-year-old turned his blade on her
‘Perhaps not in grandiose or seismic ways, but in his own inimitable ability to make friends, love his life and be a steady hand of support to so very many.’
Ms Rawlins had to pause to compose herself as she read the statement from her ‘dear friends’, who added: ‘(Barney) absolutely loved every moment of his year here at the University.
‘It was his dream to come here and one he worked hard to achieve; we remember the moment at home in our kitchen when he had confirmation of his place on A-Level results day in the Summer of 2022.
‘A beaming smile came to his face and pretty much stayed put from then on.
‘Thank you to the University for enabling this to happen today. It is with great pride that his younger brother Charlie accepts the award on all of our behalf.
‘Charlie, you are exceptional. You really are. You know how proud we are of you.
‘Your bravery, resilience and determination astound us.
‘Barney may have eye rolled, tormented and teased you mercilessly, but you must know just how much he loved you too.
Charlie Webber, 17, travelled to Nottingham with his late older brother Barnaby’s godmother, Abi Rawlins to collect the honorary degree in history this afternoon
Killer Valdo Calocane (left) was described by flatmates as a ‘ticking timebomb’ and nicknamed him ‘serial killer’ due to the loner’s unstable nature. He murdered school caretaker Ian Coates (right)
‘To all who are here to quite rightly celebrate your graduation day. A huge well done.
‘This is your day. We have just one ask of you if we may?
‘When you have a much deserved drink later on to toast your success, please also raise a glass for Barney. He’d love that.’
A small number of Barney’s closest friends from home and university also attended the ceremony this afternoon.
Ms O’Malley-Kumar’s award was accepted by: Nicola Fletcher, the victim’s friend and fellow medical student, on behalf of her devastated parents Sinéad and Sanjoy.
The heartbroken couple congratulated their daughter’s friends and peers on their achievement but said their ‘unspeakable loss’ had ‘rendered it too heartbreaking and painful to witness’ the ceremony.
They said Ms O’Malley-Kumar’s year at Nottingham ‘was the happiest year of her life’ and described her as a ‘beautiful, courageous and brave young lady who always stood by her friends’.
They said their daughter was ‘fearless and fought for friendship until her final breath.’
Medical student Grace O’Malley-Kumar received a posthumous degree at a separate ceremony last Thursday
A court last year heard how Ms Kumar-O’Malley showed ‘incredible bravery’ trying to defend Mr Webber, who was also 19, from Calocane before he turned on her.
The O’Malley-Kumars, both doctors themselves, also addressed the other medical students in the auditorium, urging them to ‘listen to and heal your patients as if they were your own family members’.
They added: ‘You can never go wrong in your clinical decision-making if you use this as your benchmark.’
Following the ‘brutal and merciless’ stabbings of Grace and Barnaby, both 19, Valdo Calocane walked a mile and a half across Nottingham – calling his brother enroute.
Asked if he was going to do something stupid, the killer replied: ‘It’s already done.’
Soon after he lured Mr Coates, 65, from his van and repeatedly knifed him. He then used the van to mow down three pedestrians, all of whom were lucky to survive.
The NHS, police, university officials and even his employer missed at least eight opportunities to deal with Calocane, then 32, before he went on the rampage in the early hours of the morning.
In January 2024, Mr Justice Mark Turner handed the paranoid schizophrenic a hospital order at Nottingham Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted murder.
Ms Rawlins had to pause to compose herself as she read the statement from her ‘dear friends’, who added: ‘(Barney) absolutely loved every moment of his year here at the University.’
A small number of Barney’s closest friends from home and university also attended the ceremony this afternoon
The order means that he could only be freed from a secure mental hospital with the agreement of the Justice Secretary.
But the bereaved families have argued ever since that Calocane -who lived in the city after graduating from the same university where his two youngest victims were undergraduates – should have been prosecuted for murder.
Flatmates described Calocane as a ‘ticking timebomb’ and nicknamed him ‘serial killer’ due to the loner’s unstable nature.
Speaking earlier this month, Barney’s mother, Emma Webber, said of her decision not to attend today’s ceremony: ‘There are things I can do and things I can’t do and I cannot go because I think it would finish me off.’
In February, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a judge-led public inquiry into the Nottingham killings, following extensive campaigning by the families of Calocane’s victims.
The same month, a report has revealed triple killer Valdo Calocane was not forced to have long-lasting antipsychotic medication because he did not like needles.
The report, commissioned by NHS England, also revealed that other patients cared for by the same mental health trust as the Nottingham attacker, stabbed and killed people between 2019 and 2023.
