Kiran Kaur: Mother of Henry Nowak's killer will be freed early from prison, Sky News understands

Thursday, 15 October 2026 21:42

The mother of Henry Nowak's killer will be freed early from prison, Sky News understands.

Vickrum Digwa was jailed for life for stabbing 18-year-old Mr Nowak to death in Southampton on 3 December last year.

His mother, Kiran Kaur, arrived at the scene and removed the knife used by her son before police arrived.

Kaur was sentenced to three years in prison for assisting an offender in July, having taken the weapon back to the nearby family home.

Sky News understands that the release is set to take place in December, with Kaur, an Indian national, possibly being eligible for the government's deportation scheme.

The Home Office declined to comment on individual cases, but said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Henry Nowak, whose life was cruelly cut short in a horrific act of violence.

"We will always seek to deport foreign criminals at the first opportunity."

Kaur could serve less than half of her sentence, and be freed around the anniversary of Mr Nowak's death under the government's early release scheme.

She is also appealing against her punishment, with a hearing scheduled at the Court of Appeal on 5 November.

When her sentence was imposed, the 221 days she had already spent on remand were taken into account, it is understood.

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Some 5,000 prisoners are scheduled to be released in stages over the next year, down from 6,000 after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and the most serious child sex offenders.

Mr Nowak, a first-year finance student from Chafford Hundred, Essex, had been on a night out with his football team.

He was knifed five times by Digwa, suffering four stab wounds and a cut to his jaw, a post-mortem found.

But, despite his injuries, he was mistakenly arrested and handcuffed by police officers who believed Digwa's claim that Mr Nowak had racially abused him.

Hampshire Police later apologised for their officers' error.

Sky News