Sentence in the Henry Novak murder case
Kiran Kaur, 53, has been sentenced by a Southampton court to three years in prison for removing the knife used by her son to kill 18-year-old student Henry Novak. She took the weapon from the scene on the night of the murder and concealed it at the family home.
Investigators established that Vikrum Digwa stabbed Henry Novak several times on the evening of 3 December 2025, inflicting one fatal wound. According to the prosecution, Digwa handed the knife to his mother immediately after the attack.
Kaur took the weapon to the family home on St Denis Road in Southampton and placed it among a collection of ceremonial blades and other weapons in her son’s room. Police found the murder weapon only on 10 December, after examining CCTV footage.
Judge condemns attempt to protect her son
Sentencing Kaur, Judge William Mousley said a responsible parent would have demanded that her son account for his actions and urged him to do the right thing. Instead, she had helped conceal the purpose for which the knife had been used.
“A responsible parent would have required their son to account for his actions and encouraged him to do the right thing. Instead, you took the knife home and placed it among the collection of ceremonial and other weapons in your son’s bedroom. That would have helped to conceal what it had been used for. You did this because you wanted him to avoid punishment,” the judge said.
Judge William Mousley also said Kaur’s actions had “compounded the indignity” suffered by Henry Novak, who was arrested while he was dying.
The judge accepted that Kaur was unlikely to offend again and that she had acted out of a “misguided attempt to protect her son rather than for personal gain”. However, he said the seriousness of the offence required a prison sentence to deter others who might find themselves in a similar situation.
Prosecutor describes a ‘wall of lies’
Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg described Kaur’s actions as an offence of the “utmost seriousness” and said her role in concealing the murder weapon had been crucial. He argued that removing the knife had hindered the police investigation and contributed to officers’ failure to believe the dying victim.
“The absence of the weapon from the scene, caused by her actions, made the work of the police more difficult, as your honour will recall they were faced with a wall of lies. She chose not to disclose what she had done. The absence of that weapon resulted in Henry dying frightened, alone and disbelieved. Her actions contributed to that,” he told the court.
Kaur’s lawyer, Mark Watson, had asked the court to impose a suspended sentence. He said she had acted “spontaneously, in a moment of panic and human weakness” and had herself been misled by her son’s false account of the incident.
The defence also argued that the weapon had not been destroyed, cleaned or deliberately hidden, and had remained inside its sheath. The court nevertheless concluded that Kaur’s conduct was intended to help her son avoid responsibility for the killing.
Family continues fight for justice
Following the sentence in the Henry Novak murder case, Henry Novak’s family said they accepted the court’s decision but remained deeply disappointed. They pledged to continue seeking a full account of what happened on the night of his death.
“Although we accept today’s decision by the court, we nevertheless remain incredibly disappointed. We will never stop fighting for justice for Henry. Our focus is on ensuring that the ongoing investigations leave no stone unturned in the search for the full truth about what happened in December,” the family said.
Vikrum Digwa was previously sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years for murdering Henry Novak. During the incident, he lied to police by claiming that he had been the victim of a racist attack.
As a result, officers arriving at the scene did not believe the mortally wounded Novak, who repeatedly told them: “I have been stabbed.” They placed him in handcuffs, and two police officers now face an investigation over suspected gross misconduct.
Protests were held in Southampton after footage from police body-worn cameras was released. Twelve police officers and a police dog were injured during the disturbances.
Digwa’s sentence has been referred to the Court of Appeal for review under the unduly lenient sentence scheme, while he is also seeking to appeal against his conviction. A full inquest into Henry Novak’s death is due to take place in Winchester next year.
Crown Prosecution Service representative Kelly Newman said: “Those who help murderers evade justice should be under no illusion: they too will be held accountable for their actions.”
