New body-worn footage exposes Henry Nowak’s killer’s lies
Newly released body-worn footage reveals the lies told by murderer Vickrum Digwa as his victim Henry Nowak lay on the ground covered in blood.
Digwa, 23, fatally stabbed the 18-year-old finance student in December last year after falsely claiming Mr Nowak had racially abused him. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years on June 1 for the murder.
The footage, first obtained by the BBC, shows Digwa claiming Mr Nowak had removed his hijab and then repeatedly telling police officers he had been racially attacked.
In the video, Digwa also claims Mr Nowak was “stumbled” and “clearly drunk” before pretending to be unaware of his injuries.
This also appears to support previous claims that Digwa was not handcuffed while Mr Nowak was not.
Giving evidence, Digwa told the court that Mr Nowak, whom he described as drunk, racially abused him, then punched him and knocked off his turban.
She said she stabbed Mr. Nowak in the back of his legs in self-defense after Mr. Nowak threatened her and grabbed her by the hair, but she did not realize at the time that he had caused the fatal stab wound in her chest.
But the prosecution said Digwa told a “bad lie” to police who arrived at the scene, telling them he was the victim of a racist attack.
The footage is marked as starting at 23:47, when paramedics arrived and took over CPR attempts from police. Digwa told police Mr Nowak “pushed my turban off my head” and “started grabbing my uncut hair” and said he was a Sikh.
He claimed Mr Nowak then began “dragging me”, which triggered an “argument” with officers.
Later in the video, he complains about police lights shining in his eyes. When officers asked him how Mr. Nowak’s wound occurred, he replied: “What wound, sorry?”
He is later arrested for attempted murder and he replies: “What? What do you mean attempted murder, why am I being arrested?”
The officer tells him: “You’re seeing your side of the story, man, we don’t know what’s going on here, okay? So we need to find out, okay?”
Mr Nowak’s treatment at the time of his death sparked unrest across the UK, with police injured and bottles thrown during protests.
Speaking outside court, Henry’s father Mark Nowak, supported by his family, said: “We want to use Henry’s heartbreaking story to make a change for the better.
“We don’t want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone.”
Following the lawsuit, interim assistant chief constable Robert France of Hampshire Constabulary apologized on behalf of the officers but said they had been “lied to” and may have been unaware of Mr Nowak’s injury, which would not have been obvious.
He said: “This is an absolutely tragic incident and I certainly sympathize with Henry’s family, friends and loved ones.
“I want to apologize, I want to say I’m sorry Henry couldn’t be saved that night. I’m sorry he was handcuffed and arrested right before he lost consciousness.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating Hampshire Police’s response to Mr Nowak’s case.
The jury inquiring into her death at Winchester Coroner’s Court next year will also hear whether there were any “acts or omissions of a police officer” that caused or contributed to her death.
