Nowak family say police failed them multiple times

ITV released footage from ‘Dear Henry: Our Fight for Justice – A Tonight Special’ that airs on Thursday 5 November at 21:00 GMT

The family of murdered student Henry Nowak have said police gave changing accounts of the events surrounding his death and did not initially disclose they had handcuffed him as he lay dying.

They said police initially portrayed him as the aggressor in the fatal altercation with killer Vickrum Digwa in Southampton on 3 December 2025.

The 18-year-old’s stepmother Katie Nowak said Hampshire Police had failed them “multiple times”.

The remarks came in a second excerpt released by ITV from the forthcoming documentary Dear Henry: Our Fight For Justice. Chief Constable Alexis Boon has apologised to the family and said that when Henry “needed us most, we failed him”.

Nowak, from Chafford Hundred in Essex, was a first-year student at the University of Southampton when he was murdered as he walked home from a night out.

He suffered five stab wounds or cuts from a 21cm (8in) blade, which Digwa later claimed was from a kirpan that he was carrying as part of his Sikh faith.

Image source, Family photo

Henry Nowak, 18, was fatally stabbed in Southampton in December 2025

In police body-worn camera footage that was shown in court, the teenager could be heard repeating, “I’ve been stabbed”, to which an officer replies: “Don’t think you have, mate.”

The family told ITV News they first saw the footage on the first day of Digwa’s trial at Southampton Crown Court.

Henry’s sister Olivia said: “That video only came out because there was a trial. We didn’t see it before the trial.”

Katie Nowak added: “We’ve always felt that there was a slight hope that Vickrum may have pleaded guilty.

“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.”

Image source, ITV

Henry’s stepmother Katie Nowak said the family felt “manipulated” by the police

In another excerpt, she said: “I do feel that we have been failed multiple times.

“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.”

The teenager’s father Mark Nowak said police gave differing accounts of what happened on 3 December.

“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.”

He also recalled being asked to approve a draft police press release that depicted his son as an aggressor.

Image source, ITV News

The student’s sister Olivia Nowak and mother Lucy Ross also spoke to ITV

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Constable Alexis Boon told ITV in a statement: “Henry’s murder was a devastating tragedy, and our thoughts remain with his family and all those who loved him.

“I am incredibly sorry that in his final moments, when he needed us most, we failed him.

“For Henry’s family, this has been about more than the circumstances of one night.

“They have rightly raised serious concerns about the police response and their treatment throughout the investigation and since. No family should ever find themselves in this position.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed its investigation into potential failures in the police response to Mr Nowak’s stabbing is expected to be concluded early next year.

However, the family said they received a letter from the police watchdog in April, saying no officers would face a conduct or criminal investigation.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced an independent inquiry into the murder, led by former lord chancellor Alex Chalk, which will look at “any missed opportunities to intervene”.

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.

Get in touch

Related topics

More on this story

Nowak family say police footage deepened trauma

Henry Nowak case: What happened and why has it caused national outrage?

Independent review announced into murder of student Henry Nowak

Related links