The mother of Barnaby Webber, 19, who was slain on the streets of Nottingham in June 2023 by Valdo Calocane, has said there are parallels between his and Henry Nowak’s killing. Grace O’Malley-Kumar, also 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates, were also stabbed to death by the 32-year-old paranoid schizophrenic. Mental health issues are not thought to be an issue as regards the murder of Henry, who was knifed to death by Vickrum Digwa, 23, with a 21cm blade. He falsely claimed that he had been the victim as a racist attack. Police did not believe that Henry had been stabbed.
Emma Webber said both exhibit a similarity, which she says is considered “unpalatable”.
Brits need to be brave and talk about race when it comes to policing, according to the mother.
“What we do need to do is be brave and have those really difficult discussions in this country,” Ms Webber said.
“[Calocane] was a black man who killed three white people and tried to kill another three white people, and that was never part of the conversation.”
“If it had been the other way round, it would have been,” she also told the Telegraph.
Riots in Southampton on Tuesday have been condemned.
Protesters angry with the way police treated Henry clashed with officers wearing riot gear.
Henry’s father, Mark, said: “We want to use Henry’s heartbreaking story to make change for the better.
“We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred, or tension. We want his story to make our streets safer for everyone.”
He added: “No other family should experience the heartbreak and horror of losing a child to knife crime.”
Ms Webber added that similarities between her son and Henry’s deaths are “replicated in every city, in every part of the UK”.
“Talk about lines in the sand, we’ve had to make so much noise and I have so much respect for Henry’s family, but they’re saying the same as us – don’t use our tragedy as an opportunity for politicising, for aggrandising yourself and your party or your beliefs,” she added.
“And, for God’s sake, don’t use it to incite any more hate and any more rioting. That’s not going to help us, that’s going to dilute what we’re trying to do.”