The family of murdered British teenager Henry Nowak say police repeatedly misled them about the circumstances of their son’s death, raising fears that authorities were more concerned with protecting their own reputation than telling the truth.
Nowak, 18, was stabbed five times by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton on 3 December 2025. Despite repeatedly telling responding officers that he had been stabbed and could not breathe, the teenager was handcuffed and arrested as he lay dying.
His attacker, meanwhile, had falsely claimed that Nowak racially abused and assaulted him.
In a new interview with ITV News, Nowak’s family accused police of providing misleading and changing accounts of what happened that night.
His father, Mark Nowak, said officers initially claimed they had immediately administered first aid. The family subsequently learned that Henry had instead been detained, handcuffed and arrested.
“The story was evolving every time we had an interaction,” he said.
“We felt we were being hoodwinked. We felt we were being not told the truth.”
His stepmother, Katie Nowak, said she feared police had deliberately concealed information.
“I fear that we may have been manipulated in our darkest hours,” she said.
“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 family also revealed that officers questioned them about Henry’s political views, as well as their own, shortly after his murder.
According to ITV, police initially portrayed Henry as the aggressor, apparently accepting his killer’s false allegations of a racially motivated attack.
The family were not shown the police body-camera footage until the first day of Digwa’s murder trial, despite receiving a letter from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in April stating that no concerns had been identified regarding the officers’ actions.
The footage showed Henry repeatedly pleading for assistance, telling officers he had been stabbed.
“I don’t think you have, mate,” one officer responded.
His final recorded words were: “Please, brother. I can’t breathe.”
Officers did not discover the fatal wound to his chest until eight minutes after arriving. The court nevertheless heard that Henry would not have survived his injuries even if first aid had been administered sooner.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Constable Alexis Boon has publicly apologised, acknowledging that officers failed the teenager in his final moments.
“I am incredibly sorry that in his final moments, when he needed us most, we failed him,” Boon said.
Two officers are now under investigation for potential gross misconduct, while the British government has announced an independent review of the case, including the conduct of the police watchdog.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the body-camera footage could not be shared with the family until the case was trial-ready because of concerns about prejudicing court proceedings.
Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years for Henry’s murder.