‘They fell together’: Nottingham students’ families unite on day of grief

Huge turnout as parents and friends of Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar pay tribute

At the centre of a sea of University of Nottingham students, the parents of Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar clung to each other for support. The huge turnout at Wednesday’s vigil was testament to the impact the students made in one academic year at the university – the two friends were excellent sportspeople, incredibly sociable and academically gifted.

Their families were seated on the front row, meeting for the first time since they found out their 19-year-old children had been killed alongside each other while walking home from a night out, in a seemingly random act of violence. The families had hugged each other and sobbed as they met.