Nottingham attack victim should be awarded George Cross, say family
The family of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, a victim of the Nottingham knife attacks, have called for her to be awarded the George Cross after she died trying to save her best friend.
The 19-year-old medical student tried to fight off Valdo Calocane, 32, as he stabbed Barnaby Webber with a dagger in June last year, before the killer turned to her.
She was praised for her “incredible bravery” in trying to protect Barnaby, also 19 and a first-year history student, from the “brutal” attack just 200 metres from their dorms near the University of Nottingham.
Her parents have now called for her to be awarded the George Cross, which is the highest civilian honour. It has been awarded just over 400 times since its creation 84 years ago.
“The George Cross would be a remarkable acknowledgement of her bravery, for sure,” her mother Sinead O’Malley told The Sun.
“Grace is never coming back to us, but we never want her to be forgotten, and this would certainly make sure she is remembered forever.
“Our hope is it would help her be remembered as the wonderful person that she was, and not just for the horrendous fate she suffered.”
Her father Dr Sanjoy Kumar said: “The accolade would be an example to every other young person.”
The George Cross is recommended by the Prime Minister for “acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger”.
Introduced by King George VI in 1940, it is equal in stature to the Victoria Cross which is Britain’s highest military gallantry award.
Moment of defence
Grace was praised for fighting Calocane and pushing him away into the road when he launched his rampage in the early hours of June 13 last year, as she and Barnaby walked back from an end-of-term night out.
The killer then turned to her and was “as uncompromisingly brutal in his assault of Grace as he was in his assault of Barnaby”, prosecutor Karim Khalil KC told Nottingham Crown Court in January.
Barnaby tried to defend them too by kicking from the ground and had defensive stab wounds, the court was told, but both of their injuries were fatal and they died at the scene on Ilkeston Road.
Much of the attack was captured on CCTV from the dash-cam of a taxi which was parked overlooking the road, and also from a mobile telephone of a neighbour.
Calocane was sentenced to a high-security hospital indefinitely after admitting three counts of manslaughter by diminished responsibility over the deaths of the students and Ian Coates, 65.
He also pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted murder for driving a vehicle at three others in the city.
The victims’ families were highly critical of police and the Crown Prosecution Service for not pursuing murder charges.
