BBC Breakfast guest fights back tears recounting devastating death of brave teenage daughter that ‘no parent should have to go through’

A BBC Breakfast guest fought back the tears recounting the devastating death of brave teenage daughter on Monday’s episode of the show.

Jon Kay, 56, and Sally Nugent, 54, returned to the sofa to discuss the latest news and headlines.

The presenters touched upon the public enquiry into the stabbing of a caretaker and two university students in Nottingham three years ago.

Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates were violently stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham City Centre in the early hours of June 13, 2023.

Jon explained: ‘This morning, three years on, a public enquiry begins looking at the events that led up to the attacks and it will provide recommendations to prevent similar incidents in the future.

‘Ahead of the hearing, the families of the three victims have been speaking to Breakfast.’

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A BBC Breakfast guest fought back the tears recounting the devastating death of brave teenage daughter on Monday’s episode of the show

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The show played out a clip of Jon Kay’s (pictured) interview with victim Grace’s dad Dr Sanjoy Kumar

The show played out a clip of Jon’s interview with Grace’s dad Dr Sanjoy Kumar.

Dr Kumar told the broadcaster: ‘There isn’t a single night that I don’t think about my daughter’s injuries, something that she could have run away from, but she didn’t.

‘She stuck it out with her friend and that will be her legacy, her bravery.

‘She didn’t abandon her friend. And I think about her every night.’

Jon asked: ‘How does her bravery inspire you through this inquiry and beyond?’

Dr Kumar replied: ‘I will bring positive change through my campaign.

‘I will do my absolute upmost to bring mental health homicide to zero because no parent should go through this…’

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Dr Kumar told the broadcaster: ‘There isn’t a single night that I don’t think about my daughter’s injuries, something that she could have run away from, but she didn’t’

As his voice broke, he apologised to host Jon and took a second to gather this thoughts.

Later on in the segment Jon explained: ‘The man who killed them, Valdo Calocane, was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

‘A review of the case heard he had a history of violent behaviour and had been detained a number of times.’

Dr Kumar went on to ask: ‘The biggest question is, why did the attacks happen?  Why did people let it happen?’

Jon replied: ‘You want to put the spotlight on how Calocane was handled, by the authorities, how he interacted with the authorities in the weeks, months and even the years before the attacks in Nottingham.’

‘If you look back at all the tragedies that happened in our country, and if they are mental health related homicides, you will always see that there is a build up to these scenarios.

‘In our case, there was also a build up. In that build up, there were failures.

‘There were failures in people to simply do their jobs.’

Back in October it was revealed Grace will be awarded the George Medal for stepping in to protect her friend before being killed in a knife rampage.

The teenager will receive the honour, a civilian award for bravery, after being recommended by King Charles.

The medical student, 19, was murdered as she tried to save Barnaby Webber from the paranoid schizophrenic knifeman.

Her mother Sinead O’Malley said it ‘would be a remarkable acknowledgement of her bravery’, while her father added the ‘world deserves people like Grace’.

‘Grace was an athlete. She could have easily run away but her instinct was to stand by her friend and she paid the ultimate price for her courage,’