The mother of Grace O’Malley-Kumar wept in court as the details of how her daughter attempted to stop Valdo Calocane killing Barnaby Webber were laid out.
Prosecutors said Calocane, 32, was as “uncompromisingly brutal in his assault of Grace as he was in his assault of Barnaby”.
On Tuesday, Calocane’s pleas to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility were accepted by prosecutors.
Grace’s brother James, 16, paid tribute to his “hero” sister, revealing how she had plans to serve in the armed forces as a medic.
James, sitting side by side with his father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, in an interview for Sky News, said: “The loss we have suffered of losing Grace has been a loss to the country.
“She was someone who served the country in her life playing for England [at hockey]. [She] played for England under-16 [and] under-18 for two years.
“She had ambitions of serving as a medic in the armed forces and again serving the country.”
Barnaby Webber was making his way back to student halls at the time of the attack on June 13 in Nottingham.
James, who now wears his sister’s earring in her memory, continued: “She was a hero, that was her character. She tried her best to save her friend, that is simply her character.
“Ultimately, I think it is very important that people hear that she tried her best to save her friend, as a 19-year-old girl.
“And all I can do now, to take any comfort in the slightest, is I sleep with her university hockey top on my pillow.
“And I wear her clothes. That is how I try and connect with Grace.”
Kumar said: “She filled the house with sound and music, the house is very quiet.
“Music from our ears has been taken away, our landscape has turned from vivid colour to black and white.
“It has been a brutal journey since June and I do not think my poor wife has slept a night, many tears, it has been a very sad time.
A ‘brutal’ attack
The defendant was formally diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia in July 2020, and is now being kept in a high-security psychiatric facility
The clean-shaven, bespectacled 32-year-old was flanked in the dock at the Nottingham Crown Court by five security guards, and was dressed in a navy suit and blue shirt.
He spoke only to give his name as Adam Mendes, an alias he uses.
Outlining the events of June 13, prosecutor Karim Khalil KC told the packed courtroom the attack on Barnaby and Grace was caught on the dashcam of a taxi parked nearby and filmed by a neighbour on her phone.
The court heard the pair had been walking home from an end-of-term party and were within 200m of their accommodation when they were killed.
As Khalil began to describe the “brutality” of the attack, Grace and Barnaby’s mothers began sobbing loudly.
Prosecutors have accepted Valdo Calocane's pleas to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility. Photo / Nottinghamshire Police
Khalil continued: “The footage shows that the devastating violence of the attacks was mirrored only by the deliberate and merciless way the defendant acted.
“As the defendant stabbed Barnaby, inflicting grave injuries which caused him to fall to the floor, Grace, demonstrating incredible bravery, sought to protect her friend and fight off the killer, pushing him away and into the road.
“The defendant quickly turned his attention to her, and the two fought for over 30 seconds, during which time the defendant stabbed her repeatedly.
“He was as uncompromisingly brutal in his assault of Grace as he was in his assault of Barnaby.
“The defendant then walked to the south side of the road, where Barnaby was now lying prone to the ground. Grace, again, tried to walk towards them, but her injuries were too severe, and she collapsed.
“As the defendant continued his attack on Barnaby, Barnaby tried to defend himself, kicking from the ground at the defendant.
“The defendant then calmly walked away.”
A witness to the attack described hearing an “awful, blood-curdling scream” and saw the “cold, calculated” Calocane stabbing Barnaby as Grace screamed at him to stop.
As the attacks were described in even greater detail, several members of Barnaby and Grace’s family left the courtroom.
Loud sobbing could be heard outside. Grace’s father remained in the courtroom throughout.
Lee Coates, the son of Ian Coates, also had to leave the courtroom as graphic details were read out.
He spat the word “prick” at Calocane through the glass-panelled dock as he walked out.
Less than an hour after the attack, Calocane, whose last known address was in Burford Rd in Nottingham, called his brother and told him: “This will be the last time I speak to you. Take the family out of the country.”
The court heard his brother asked him if he was going to do something stupid, to which he replied: “It is already done.”
Calocane then made his way from the scene of the initial double killing to a residential hostel in Mapperley Rd.
At 5.04am he attempted to enter the hostel through ground-floor windows, but “retreated” after being confronted by an occupant who punched him in the face.
Ian Coates, 65, was driving a Vauxhall van in nearby Magdala Rd and was repeatedly stabbed, suffering wounds to his abdomen and chest, about 5.14am.
Khalil told the court: “The defendant then took Ian Coates’ van, leaving him for dead.”
Coates was discovered by members of the public shortly after 5.30am, found to be unresponsive and was pronounced dead shortly after paramedics and police arrived.
Calocane, who the court heard was suffering from a “serious mental illness” at the time, is being sentenced in the Nottingham Crown Court after his earlier guilty pleas to three counts of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility were accepted by prosecutors.
