The family of Henry Nowak has expressed profound disappointment following the sentencing of his killer’s mother, Kiran Kaur, who received a three-year prison term for removing the murder weapon from the crime scene.
Kaur, 53, was jailed at Southampton Crown Court on Friday for assisting an offender. She took the knife back to her nearby family home on the night of the 18-year-old’s murder on 3 December 2025.
Jurors found Kaur, of St Denys Road, Southampton, guilty of the charge in May. Her son, Vickrum Digwa, was simultaneously convicted of Henry Nowak’s murder and carrying a knife in public.
In a statement released after Friday’s proceedings, Mr Nowak’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.”
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.”
Digwa, 23, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years on June 1 for the murder of Mr Nowak, after falsely claiming the finance student had racially abused him.
During Digwa’s murder trial, it emerged that he had lied to police about the events leading up to the stabbing, falsely claiming that Mr Nowak had racially abused him.
Anger erupted after a police body-worn video was released showing Mr Nowak, 18, being placed in handcuffs moments before he became unconscious and subsequently died.
Two Hampshire police officers involved in the arrest are now under investigation for potential gross misconduct.
Digwa was sentenced in June to life in prison, with a minimum term of 21 years, for Mr Nowak’s murder.
The sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal as “unduly lenient” by the solicitor general, Ellie Reeves, in June.
The Court of Appeal has also announced that Digwa is aiming to appeal against his conviction and sentence.
