Kiran Kaur, the mother of Vickrum Digwa, has been sentenced to three years in prison at Southampton Crown Court for assisting an offender by removing the knife her son used to murder 18-year-old Henry Nowak. The 53-year-old, of St Denys Road, Southampton, was found guilty by jurors in May and has already spent over seven months in custody since her arrest.
Family Statement
Henry's family released a statement expressing their disappointment with the sentencing. 'While we accept today's sentencing decision, nonetheless we remain incredibly disappointed,' the family said. 'We will never give up in our campaign for justice for Henry. Our focus is on making sure the ongoing investigations leave no stone unturned as we fight for the full truth about what happened last December, and we continue to urge the government to deliver the changes our wonderful son deserves.'
Details of the Crime
Henry Nowak, a finance student at the University of Southampton, was murdered on December 3, 2025. Vickrum Digwa, 23, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years on June 1 for the murder, having falsely claimed Henry racially abused him. The knife was recovered after examination of CCTV and identified as the murder weapon around a week after Henry's death.
Prosecution and Sentencing
Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC told the court that Kaur's role was 'crucial' in removing the murder weapon as police were arriving. He said: 'The absence of weapon at the scene caused by her actions hampered the police attending who were, as your Honour will recall, confronted with a wall of lies. She chose not to disclose what she had done. Absence of that weapon led to Henry dying terrified, alone and disbelieved, her actions contributed to this.'
Sentencing Kaur, Judge William Mousley KC stated: 'A responsible parent would have challenged their son over their actions and encourage them to do the right thing. Instead you took the knife home and put it with a larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons in your son's bedroom. That would have helped to conceal what it had been used for. This is because you wanted him to avoid being caught.'
Defence Argument
Barrister Mark Watson, defending Kaur, said she had received a phone call that her son had been attacked and was 'equally misled' by Digwa's lies. He described her act as 'spontaneous', not a calculated plan, noting: 'The weapon was not destroyed, it was not cleaned, it was not broken up and hidden.' The knife was still within its sheath. He added that the mother-of-five was a pillar of her family and community, with positive good character and volunteer work, and requested a suspended sentence. Kaur, aided by a Punjabi interpreter, appeared emotional in the dock, drying her eyes with tissues during the mitigation.
Upcoming Inquest
A full inquest into Henry's death is due to be held in Winchester next year.
