Students killed in Nottingham attacks to be awarded posthumous degrees

Two students who were stabbed to death in the Nottingham attacks will receive posthumous degrees this month.

Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, were fatally stabbed as they walked home from a night out in Nottingham in the early hours of June 13 2023 by Valdo Calocane, who also went on to kill 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates and attempt to kill three others.

The University of Nottingham, where Barnaby was studying history and Grace was a medical student, has confirmed they will both be given posthumous degrees at this summer’s graduation ceremonies.

A spokesperson for the University of Nottingham said: “We will be offering posthumous degrees for both Barney and Grace at this summer’s graduation ceremonies later this month and are working with their families to understand how they would prefer to mark this important milestone.

“We also appreciate that this is likely to be an emotional day for many of their cohort, who will be remembering their friends Barney and Grace.”

Emma Webber, Barnaby’s mother, said his younger brother would be attending the ceremony to accept the degree on his family’s behalf.

She told the PA news agency: “We are so proud that Charlie, who is only 17, is able to go to Nottingham, supported by very close friends and family, to accept Barney’s degree on our behalf.

“Sadly, it’s too much for us to bear, but we do feel it’s important that it’s marked.”

She added: “What should have been a proud, happy day for all of the family is yet another tragically sad one.

“But we will use the day to think of Barney, his beaming smile, his great friend Grace and also Ian Coates.

“We want to celebrate their lives and not the monster that took them.”

Calocane admitted three counts of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted murder.

Prosecutors accepted the then-32-year-old’s not guilty pleas to murder charges at his sentencing hearing at Nottingham Crown Court in January 2024 after medical evidence showed he has paranoid schizophrenia.