The mother of the man who stabbed 18-year-old Henry Nowak to death has been jailed for three years for removing the murder weapon from the scene. Kiran Kaur, 53, was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Friday after being found guilty of assisting an offender. Her son, Vickrum Digwa, 23, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years on June 1 for the murder of the finance student on December 3 2025. Digwa had falsely claimed Henry had racially abused him – lies that led police to handcuff the dying teenager while his killer walked free.
Bodycam footage released after the killing showed Henry being placed in handcuffs moments before he became unconscious and died. Two Hampshire police officers involved in the arrest are now under investigation for potential gross misconduct. The Court of Appeal has announced that Digwa is aiming to appeal against his conviction and sentence, after the solicitor general, Ellie Reeves, referred the 21-year minimum term as “unduly lenient” in June.
“Kiran Kaur, 53, jailed for three years for removing the knife her son used to murder Henry Nowak.”
Sentencing Kaur, Judge William Mousley KC said: “A responsible parent would have challenged their son over their actions and encourage them to do the right thing. Instead you took the knife home and put it with a larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons in your son’s bedroom. That would have helped to conceal what it had been used for.” The court heard that Kaur moved the knife, still in its sheath, from the scene near Belmont Road in Southampton back to the family home on St Denys Road. Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC said her role was “crucial” in removing the weapon at a time police were arriving, hampering their response: “The absence of that weapon led to Henry dying terrified, alone and disbelieved, her actions contributed to this.”
Kaur’s barrister, Mark Watson, said she had been “equally misled” by her son, having received a phone call that he had been attacked, and that her act was “spontaneous” – not a calculated plan. The knife was recovered about a week later after CCTV examination. The court heard Kaur was a mother of five and a pillar of her community, but Judge Mousley told her: “This is because you wanted him to avoid being caught.”
In a statement released after the sentencing, Henry’s family said: “While we accept today’s sentencing decision, nonetheless we remain incredibly disappointed. We will never give up in our campaign for justice for Henry. Our focus is on making sure the ongoing investigations leave no stone unturned as we fight for the full truth about what happened last December, and we continue to urge the Government to deliver the changes our wonderful son deserves.”
