Henry Nowak family tell of trauma of seeing son handcuffed
The family of Henry Nowak has spoken of how their grief was compounded by watching police body-worn camera footage showing officers handcuffing the teenager as he lay dying. The 18-year-old student was stabbed five times while walking home from a night out with friends in Southampton on 3 December 2025. His killer, Vickrum Digwa, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years.
Family’s double trauma
In an interview with ITV, Henry’s parents and sister described how their world changed twice. Katie, his stepmother, said the first time was the night they were told he had died, and the second was when they watched the video. She recalled the police arriving at one in the morning and an officer asking if she had a son called Henry, then telling her there had been an altercation and her son had passed away. Mark, Henry’s father, remembered saying “it’s Henry” and breaking down in tears, describing the pain as unbelievable.
His sister Olivia keeps some of his T-shirts on his bed because they still smell of him and give her comfort. His mother Lucy can no longer enter his bedroom, and coats now hang over the door so she doesn’t have to look at it. The family’s trauma was worsened by the fact that officers took another 24 hours to identify Henry’s body and inform them.
The murder caused widespread political outrage when the footage emerged. In the video, Henry can be heard repeatedly saying he had been stabbed, while an officer replies: “Don’t think you have, mate.” The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating two officers for potential gross misconduct and whether race, religion or prejudice affected their decisions. The watchdog expects to conclude early next year.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced an independent review led by former lord chancellor Alex Chalk. It will look at any missed opportunities to intervene and how public authorities treated the family. Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, was jailed for three years for assisting an offender.
