Henry Nowak's family accuse Hampshire Police of cover-up and manipulation
The family of murdered student Henry Nowak say police gave changing accounts of his death and initially portrayed him as the aggressor. Chief Constable Alexis Boon has since apologised.
Nowak family: Hampshire Police withheld handcuffing and shifted blame onto murder victim
The family of Henry Nowak, the 18-year-old student stabbed to death in Southampton on 3 December 2025, have accused Hampshire Police of withholding key information, providing contradictory accounts, and initially portraying their son as the aggressor in the attack that killed him. The allegations were made in excerpts from the forthcoming ITV documentary Dear Henry: Our Fight For Justice, as reported by bbc.co.uk.
Nowak, who was from Chafford Hundred in Essex and was studying at the University of Southampton, was killed as he walked home from a night out. He suffered five stab wounds or cuts from a 21cm blade wielded by Vickrum Digwa, 23, who later claimed he had been carrying the weapon as a kirpan as part of his Sikh faith. Digwa was subsequently jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years.
His stepmother, Katie Nowak, told ITV that the force had failed the family "multiple times" and that she feared decisions had been taken to protect the police's reputation rather than support the family.
"I do feel that we have been failed multiple times," she said. "I fear that we may have been manipulated in our darkest hours. I fear that some decisions were made to try and protect the police and their reputation rather than help us as a family."
Among the family's specific grievances was the police's failure to disclose, at the outset, that officers had handcuffed Henry as he lay dying. Body-worn camera footage shown at trial captured the teenager repeatedly telling an officer, "I've been stabbed," to which the officer replied: "Don't think you have, mate."
Henry's sister Olivia Nowak said the family only saw that footage on the first day of Digwa's trial at Southampton Crown Court. "That video only came out because there was a trial," she said. "We didn't see it before the trial."
Henry's father, Mark Nowak, said the police's version of events changed repeatedly during the family's interactions with the force. "The story was evolving every time we had an interaction," he said. "That evolution of what actually happened that night really shocked us, and we felt we were being hoodwinked. We felt we were being not told the truth."
Mark Nowak also recalled being asked to approve a draft press release prepared by the police that depicted his son as the aggressor in the fatal confrontation with Digwa.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Constable Alexis Boon issued an apology to the family via ITV. "Henry's murder was a devastating tragedy, and our thoughts remain with his family and all those who loved him," Boon said. "I am incredibly sorry that in his final moments, when he needed us most, we failed him."
Boon added that the family had "rightly raised serious concerns about the police response and their treatment throughout the investigation and since," and said no family should ever find themselves in such a position.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed its investigation into potential failures in the police response to the stabbing is expected to conclude early next year. However, the family said they received a letter from the watchdog in April stating that no officers would face a conduct or criminal investigation.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a separate independent inquiry into the murder, led by former lord chancellor Alex Chalk. The inquiry will examine "any missed opportunities to intervene."
Katie Nowak also reflected on what might have happened had the case never gone to trial. "We've always felt that there was a slight hope that Vickrum may have pleaded guilty," she said. "And if he'd have pleaded guilty or we hadn't have hired expert help, we've always had that fear that the truth may never have come out."
Dear Henry: Our Fight For Justice, a Tonight special, airs on Thursday 5 November at 21:00 GMT on ITV, ITVX and the ITV News YouTube channel.
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)