The Irish mother of a 19-year-old victim of last year's Nottingham attack has told a court that her daughter "paid the ultimate price with her life" and that she was "immensely proud of her bravery".
Grace O'Malley-Kumar was stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane, alongside fellow Nottingham University student Barnaby Webber, as they returned from a night out.
Grace was the daughter of Irish-born, London-based consultant anaesthetist Sinead O'Malley.
Calocane also stabbed to death school caretaker Ian Coates. This morning prosecutors accepted his plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to "serious" mental illness.
Grace's mother paid tribute in court to her "darling girl" who was "cruelly and violently taken away from us".
Ms O'Malley, who has worked in the NHS for more than 30 years, said she has been unable to return to the operating theatre since her daughter's death.
She told Nottingham Crown Court: "I feel absolute desolation and unfathomable grief at her loss. The world is a more sorrowful place without her.
"My daily life is consumed with her loss and full of tears. I am dizzy with grief, I have been to the darkest corners of my mind.
"The revolting cowardice of the defendant compared to the heroism of our Gracie is incomparable.
"I'm so proud of the person she was. She was a wonderful friend.
"She always stood up for her friends and she paid the ultimate price with her life. I remain immensely proud of her bravery."
Addressing Calocane in the dock, Grace's mother said: "You are responsible for our ongoing pain and heartbreak.
"You are duplicitous and manipulative. You have shown no remorse.
"You understood right from wrong. You have violence in your soul.
"You are medically non-compliant and are never to be trusted. You remain a danger to society and the wider public.
"We know justice will be served. The public needs to be protected from you."
Grace's 17-year-old brother, James O’Malley-Kumar, told Sky News that he thing he missed the most about his sister is her smile.
He said: "Knowing that I’ll never see that (smile) again is something really hurts me.
"I have her earring in now, which I always keep in, because again it’s a part of her, and that’s how I try and get as close as I can to her."
He added: "Grace’s last moments were in pain and that’s something that really hurts me to think about and she was a hero, that was her character.
"She tried her best to save her friend. That was how Grace lost her life in the most vulnerable manner. She would never leave a friend, never, and that was very evident from her last moments. She passed fighting."
Grace was studying medicine at the university at the time of her death.
