Charlie Webber, the younger brother of Nottingham attack victim Barnaby Webber, has revealed that the tragedy instantly aged him five years. Now 18, Charlie was just 15 when his brother was killed by Valdo Calocane, a man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, in the June 2023 attacks that shocked the nation.
A World Turned Upside Down
Charlie, speaking to the Sunday Times, recalled hearing about the deadly attack after returning from a school trip. A teacher told him his parents were coming to collect him, and he immediately sensed something was wrong. When his parents arrived, they told him there had been an incident in Nottingham and they believed Barney had passed away.
“When I heard those words, it was like my world flipped upside down,” Charlie said. “I was in year 10, first year of GCSEs, just come back from messing around with my mates on a school trip. Suddenly there were news crews outside our front door ... I aged five years just like that.”
The Attack and Its Aftermath
Barnaby Webber, 19, a student at Nottingham University, was stabbed to death alongside fellow student Grace O'Malley-Kumar, also 19, as they walked home from a night out. School caretaker Ian Coates, 65, was also fatally stabbed in the early hours of June 13, 2023. Their killer, Valdo Calocane, 31, had been sectioned four times and had an outstanding arrest warrant. He pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted murder and is under an indefinite hospital order.
Honoring His Brother
Charlie, who describes Barnaby as his “hero” and “best friend,” has just finished his A-level exams and been accepted to read history at Cardiff University, the same subject Barnaby studied. He plans to take a gap year and help with the Barnaby Webber Foundation, a charity supporting young people facing life challenges. The family’s motto is “be more Barney.”
“I felt like I needed to step up and get behind the cause. I needed to fight for what we think is right,” Charlie said.
Coping with Grief
Charlie initially avoided counseling, wanting to be normal again, but later opened up and found it helped him “massively.” After Calocane’s sentencing in January 2024, where prosecutors said there was “no realistic prospect of conviction for murder,” Charlie wrote on Instagram: “This murderous monster tore my once beautiful family apart. I will not stand by and accept the verdict that he is not a murderer.”
He admitted he was “not in a good state mentally” after the sentencing, feeling anger building up. But he channeled that energy into the foundation. He also feels pressure to keep himself safe, knowing his parents have already lost a child.
A Cherished Memory
Charlie’s favorite memory of Barnaby is a car journey a few weeks before his death, when they drove back to Taunton together. “We’d always been really close, but that car journey was like the first time we had a real adult conversation,” he said. “Going back in the car with Barnaby was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made ... It’s three hours I’ll cherish for ever.”
Now, as he turns 19, the same age his brother was when he died, Charlie reflects: “It’s a hard thing to wrap your head around. In my head, Barney is three or four years on, but actually he’s frozen at 19.”
