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.
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.” 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.
Why, why’ve you just … ‘Don’t think you have mate’. What the hell is that all about? Why was Henry so dismissed and treated so badly?
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.” 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.
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