NATIONAL - ‘She could have run’: Mum of 19-year-old stabbed to death remembers her as a ‘hero’
Grace O’Malley-Kumar was killed in a violent attack in Nottingham
The Irish mum of 19-year-old Grace O’Malley-Kumar, who was stabbed to death in Nottingham last summer, has remembered her daughter as a ‘hero’.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning, Grace’s mother, Sinead O’Malley-Kumar, said the family wasn’t surprised that she tried to save her friend during the attack.
Last Tuesday, Valdo Calocane pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of students Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, as well as caretaker Ian Coates.
Grace O’Malley-Kumar tried to fight off the attacker to protect her friend, Barnaby.
“Grace has been a hero and stood up for her friends since she was eight years-old,” Ms O’Malley-Kumar told ITV.
“She always stood up for the underdog and never let anybody be bullied or marginalised. The fact that she stood up for Barney and tried to intervene in his attack doesn’t surprise us at all. It’s just the way she was.”
Grace’s mother pointed out that her daughter could have ran away from the attack.
“It breaks our hearts,” she continued. “She could have run. But we don’t think about that – it’s not ‘what if’ anymore. She did what she did and that’s the person she was.”