The family of the murdered teenager Henry Nowak, who was arrested as he pleaded for medical help after being stabbed, have said they were failed by the authorities and fear they were manipulated in their darkest hour.
His parents described how police wrongly told them Nowak, 18, had been the aggressor, and that officers had immediately administered first aid. They said the police watchdog had initially said there was no evidence of misconduct by officers.
“The story was evolving every time we had an interaction,” Henry’s father, Mark Nowak, told ITV News. “What started off as: ‘When the police arrived, we administered first aid,’ moved through a stage where: ‘When the police arrived, they detained everyone’ … to: ‘We actually only detained Henry,’ to then: ‘We handcuffed Henry,’ and then: ‘We placed Henry under arrest.’
“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.”
Novak’s stepmother, Katie Nowak, said: “I do feel that we have been failed multiple times. I fear that we may have been manipulated in our darkest hours. And I fear that some decisions were made to try and protect the police and their reputation rather than help us as a family.”
The student was murdered by Vickrum Digwa, who stabbed him as he walked home from a night out in Southampton in December 2025. Nowak was handcuffed by police officers while bleeding to death after Digwa, who was eventually jailed for life, had falsely accused him of racial abuse.
In police bodyworn camera footage that prompted a public outcry, Nowak was heard repeatedly saying: “I’ve been stabbed,” to which an officer replied: “Don’t think you have, mate.”
Bodycam footage shows Vickrum Digwa lying to police before his arrest –video
The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), is investigating and the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has launched a review to examine whether opportunities were missed to prevent the murder.
Speaking to ITV News, the student’s mother, Lucy Ross, said: “Henry told the police nine times that he can’t breathe, he can’t breathe and he’s been stabbed. What more do you want? Why, why’ve you just … ‘Don’t think you have mate’. What the hell is that all about? And then handcuff him. Why was Henry so dismissed and treated so badly?
“It’s bad enough losing a child. To know that then he was treated in his last moments like that. My poor little boy needed help and he didn’t get it.”
Vickrum Digwa, who was sentenced to life in prison for murdering Henry Nowak. Photograph: Hampshire And Isle Of Wight Constabulary/Reuters
Hampshire and Isle of Wight chief constable, Alexis Boon, told ITV News: “I am incredibly sorry that in his final moments, when he needed us most, we failed him. I recognise that, 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.”
Novak’s family revealed that the IOPC had said in April: “No [Hampshire police] officers would be subject to conduct or criminal investigation. This was because there were no concerns identified in relation to officer actions.” Less than two months later, Hampshire and Isle of Wight constabulary was forced to apologise for its actions.
The police watchdog’s director of engagement, Derrick Campbell, told ITV News: “The IOPC is committed to establishing the full circumstances of this case, including whether any of the officers involved should face disciplinary proceedings, and providing Henry’s family with answers to the questions they rightly have about how the police treated Henry in the way they did on that terrible night, and why.”
