Mother of Henry Nowak's Killer Sentenced to Three Years for Removing Murder Weapon

The mother of Henry Nowak's killer has been sentenced to three years in prison for removing the 21-centimetre knife from the scene of the murder. Kiran Kaur, 53, was convicted of assisting an offender by concealing the weapon in her son's bedroom alongside other weapons. The case reveals a deliberate attempt to obstruct justice in one of Southampton's high-profile homicides.

The Crime and Conviction

Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old student from Essex, was fatally stabbed in Southampton in December. Vickrum Digwa, Nowak's killer, was subsequently jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years. Following the attack, Digwa falsely claimed to police that he had been the victim of a racist assault. Police bodycam footage later revealed that Nowak was arrested despite suffering severe stab wounds—a detail that drew further scrutiny to the handling of the case.

Kaur's involvement came immediately after the stabbing. Her son Vickrum asked her to remove the murder weapon from the scene, and she complied by taking the blade to their family home and placing it in Vickrum's bedroom among a larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons. During sentencing at Southampton Crown Court, Judge William Mousley stated that by hiding the knife in this manner, Kaur "helped to conceal what it had been used for" and acted with the intention of helping her son "avoid being caught."

Judicial Reasoning and Parental Responsibility

The judge emphasised that Kaur's role was "crucial in removing the murder weapon from the scene." Her legal team argued she acted out of an "instinctive desire to protect her child," but the court rejected this as justification. Judge Mousley told Kaur that "a responsible parent would have challenged their son" and urged her to "do the right thing" by reporting the crime. The judge also noted that both of Kaur's sons—Vickrum and his brother Gurpreet, who filmed Henry as he lay dying—displayed a "callous disregard for his wellbeing" by ignoring his desperation after being stabbed.