BEFORE getting the call that her son had been brutally killed, Emma Webber knew something terrible had happened.
The mum-of-two, whose son Barnaby was one of three innocent people slaughtered in Nottingham a year ago today, had tracked his phone as it was taken to the police station.
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Emma had spoken to her first-born just hours before he died – asking when he was coming home as she was looking forward to seeing him.
But tragically, in the early hours of June 13, 2023, Barnaby was knifed to death alongside his pal Grace O’Malley-Kumar by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane.
The killer then fatally attacked grandad Ian Coates before taking off in his van and running down pedestrians.
Hours before the horror unfolded, Emma had text her 19-year-old – with the pair joking about hangovers and him getting a job.
She typed out: “When are you coming back? We’re looking forward to you coming back.”
Barnaby cheekily replied: “I’ll be back Thursday or Friday, depending on my hangover.”
Emma then told her boy he’d have to “get a job to earn some money over the summer to pay for all the things” he wanted to do.
To which Barnaby replied “yes, yes” with an eye roll emoji.
The 19-year-old had been out at PRYZM nightclub with pal Grace before they started walking home to their student accommodation.
The teens were snapped on CCTV happily chatting away just moments before they were attacked.
But tragically the students never made it back to their university hall – they were stabbed to death by Calocane in what was dubbed a “despicable and murderous” rampage.
In the hours that followed the Webber family woke up as normal, but at around 9am dad Dave told his wife: “Something’s happened in Nottingham.”
Emma told the Mirror: “We then straight away tried to contact Barney and he was not answering his phone and continued to not answer his phone.
“We were trying to see where his phone was on the Find Me app and could see it was not at his student residence.”
The mum said it was then that she and Dave started to get “really concerned”.
She continued: “I had a feeling that something was wrong. Then the phone started moving. It moved to the police station, and then I just knew.”
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Emma recalled the parents started panicking – then saw on the news that a man and woman had been killed.
She said they started to think that couldn’t be their boy because he was just a “child”.
The parents started frantically phoning hospitals and the police and Dave said the cop’s voice changed when he mentioned his son’s name.
They jumped in the car and started making their way from Somerset to Nottingham and only made it four miles when they got the call from police, confirming every parents’ worst nightmare.
Emma recalled her “world going black” as she started screaming.
Her voice broke as she told of how the last 12 months had been catastrophic and life-changing, in the worst way – adding she missed everything about her boy.
A vigil will be held today to mark one year since Barnaby, Grace and Ian’s tragic deaths.
I had a feeling that something was wrong.
Emma Webber
Calocane was handed an indefinite hospital order in January, but it was quickly labelled “unduly lenient”.
Prosecutors ruled that Calocane could not be held fully responsible for his actions because of his paranoid schizophrenia.
This meant they accepted his manslaughter by diminished responsibility plea rather than pressing for a murder conviction.
In the wake of his sentencing, Grace’s family called for her to be awarded a George Cross after she was dubbed a hero for trying to save Barnaby.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak then said he would support recognition for her bravery.
Speaking ahead of today’s vigil, Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: “On the morning of 13 June 2023, devastating events took place in our city which resulted in the loss of three innocent lives.
“My thoughts today are with the families and friends of Barnaby, Grace, Ian, and those that were seriously injured.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
“On behalf of all of us at Nottinghamshire Police, I will be laying a wreath and lighting a candle in the city in their memory and paying my respects, alongside other local civic leaders.
“We will never forget this tragic loss of life.”
Timeline of the Nottingham attacks
The attacks started around 4am on June 13 on Ilkeston Road, Nottingham when Calocane launched at Barnaby and Grace.
Prosecutor Karim Khalil KC said the “brutal” attack was captured from a taxi’s dashcam.
He added: “That footage shows that the devastating violence of the attacks was mirrored only by the deliberate and merciless way the defendant acted.”
Once he killed Grace and Barnaby, rampaging Calocane attempted to break into a home but was punched in the face by a stunned occupant.
Undeterred, he made his way to Magdala Road where he came across caretaker Ian.
He then used the van to run down the three pedestrians.
Police announced a “major incident” was taking place around 7am.
In the hours that followed, they revealed three people were dead, another was fighting for his life and two were injured.
Valdo Calocane was identified as the man, and arrested on suspicion of murder.
The families of Grace and Barnaby gathered at a vigil the day after they were killed.
On June 16, three days after the attack, he was charged with the triple murder.
One week after the attack, one of the men who was run down by Calocane’s van opened up about the horror and said he “remembered everything”.
On July 12, grandfather Ian was farewelled at a service filled with loved ones.
Two days later, “extraordinary” Barnaby’s mum broke down in tears at his funeral – where hundreds gathered to say goodbye.
And on July 21, more than 1,000 mourners came together to pay tribute to Grace.
Calocane was found guilty of the manslaughter of Grace and Barnaby, and 65-year-old grandfather Ian Coates on January 23.
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