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The family of murdered student Henry Nowak have accused police of misleading them about the circumstances surrounding his final moments, saying they were given conflicting explanations about how officers treated him after he was stabbed in Southampton.
Nowak, 18, was handcuffed and arrested while seriously injured and pleading for medical assistance after being stabbed in December 2025. His parents say they were initially told that officers had administered first aid and that their son had been the aggressor. They later received different accounts of the police response, leaving them feeling that important information had been withheld.
Speaking to ITV News, Henry’s father, Mark Nowak, described how the explanation given by police appeared to change during successive conversations with the family.
He said the first account suggested that officers had administered first aid when they arrived. The family were subsequently told that officers had detained everyone at the scene, then that Henry alone had been detained, before learning that he had been handcuffed and placed under arrest.
Mark said the changing explanations had shocked the family and left them feeling they had not been told the truth.
Henry’s stepmother, Katie Nowak, said the family felt they had been failed repeatedly. She also expressed concern that decisions may have been taken to protect the police force and its reputation rather than support the family during an extremely difficult period.
Henry was stabbed by Vickrum Digwa as he walked home after a night out in Southampton in December 2025. Digwa had falsely accused him of racial abuse before the fatal attack. He was subsequently convicted of Henry’s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Body-worn camera footage of the police response prompted widespread public concern. In the recording, Henry can be heard repeatedly telling officers that he had been stabbed. One officer responded: “Don’t think you have, mate.”
Henry’s mother, Lucy Ross, told ITV News that her son had repeatedly said he could not breathe and had been stabbed. She questioned why his pleas for help were not acted upon and described the way he was treated in his final moments as deeply distressing.
She said the loss of her son had been made even more painful by knowing that he had needed help but had not received the response the family believed he required.
Alexis Boon, chief constable of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, apologised to Henry and his family in comments to ITV News.
He said the police had failed Henry when he needed them most and acknowledged that the family had raised serious concerns about both the response on the night and their treatment during the investigation and afterwards.
The family also revealed that the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) had told them in April that no officers would face a conduct or criminal investigation because no concerns had been identified about their actions.
Less than two months later, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary was forced to apologise for its response.
The IOPC is continuing to investigate the circumstances of the case, including whether any officers should face disciplinary proceedings.
Derrick Campbell, the watchdog’s director of engagement, said the organisation was committed to establishing the full circumstances and providing Henry’s family with answers about how he was treated.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has also launched a review to examine whether opportunities were missed to prevent the murder.
The investigations are expected to address questions about the police response, the decisions made at the scene and the information subsequently provided to Henry’s family.
For the family, the central concern remains why an injured teenager who repeatedly said he had been stabbed was handcuffed and arrested rather than receiving the urgent assistance he needed.
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