Henry Nowak killer's mother jailed for removing knife

Kiran Kaur, 53, the mother of convicted killer Vickrum Digwa, has been jailed for three years for removing the knife used to murder Henry Nowak from the Southampton crime scene. She was convicted in May of assisting an offender after taking the 21cm (8in) blade back to the family home.

Key Takeaways

• Kaur received a three-year prison sentence at Southampton Crown Court for assisting an offender.
• She removed the murder weapon after Digwa fatally stabbed 18-year-old student Henry Nowak on 3 December 2025.
• Judge William Mousley KC said placing the knife among other weapons in Digwa's bedroom helped conceal what it had been used for.
• Digwa is already serving life with a minimum term of 21 years for the murder.
• Police did not recover the knife until 10 December 2025, seven days after the attack.

The sentencing, covered by BBC News from court, closes another chapter in a case that shocked Britain after bodycam footage showed Henry Nowak being arrested while dying from stab wounds.

For more coverage of court cases and investigations, explore BlasterPost's True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries section.

Why was Digwa's mother sentenced over Henry Nowak's murder?

Kaur was found guilty in May at Southampton Crown Court of assisting an offender. Prosecutors said her role was crucial: after Digwa stabbed Nowak, she took the murder weapon away from the scene and back to the nearby family home.

Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg described her actions as "criminality of the highest order," arguing the missing knife left Henry dying "terrified" and "alone." Defence barrister Mark Watson said she acted from an "instinctive desire to protect her child," had not tried to destroy the weapon, and asked for a suspended sentence.

The court heard Digwa asked Kaur to take the knife away even as his brother Gurpreet told others that no weapon had been used. The judge said Digwa's sons showed a "callous disregard" for Henry's wellbeing.

What did the judge say about removing the knife?

Sentencing Kaur, Judge William Mousley KC said a responsible parent would have challenged their son and encouraged him to do the right thing. Instead, he said, she "took the knife and put it at home with other weapons" in Digwa's bedroom.

By placing the dagger among "a larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons," the judge said, she "helped to conceal what it had been used for." He also noted she removed the weapon from the scene but did not attempt to hide the item itself from discovery at home.

Mousley told Kaur that Henry Nowak was a "kind, devoted young man," adding: "Your son murdered him."

How does this fit into the wider Henry Nowak case?

Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old Southampton university student from Essex, was stabbed multiple times by Digwa in December 2025. Digwa falsely claimed he had been racially attacked, and officers initially failed to believe Henry's pleas that he had been stabbed.

Digwa was later jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years. Kaur's three-year sentence addresses the aftermath: removing the 21cm blade that was finally found a week after the killing.

Together, the convictions underline how both the murder and the attempt to clear Digwa's path after the attack were put before the courts.