Henry Novak's Family Condemns Police Treatment After His Murder

I am Henry Novak's father. To my left is my daughter, Olivia Novak, Henry's older sister.

And to her left is Lucy Ross, Henry Novak's mother.

The jury confirmed what we've always known. Henry's life was taken from him unlawfully,

violently and without justification. Henry was 18 years old. He was kind, ambitious,

loved and full of promise. He had his whole life ahead of him, a degree to finish,

places to see and a future to build. That future was stolen from him and no verdict or sentence

will ever give it back. Henry did nothing wrong. He was one of the kindest, friendliest and most

inclusive people you could ever hope to meet. He was amazing in every way. On the 3rd of December

last year, Henry was walking home from a night out with his university football teammates

when he encountered Vikram Degwa, a man openly carrying a large knife on the streets of Britain.

That knife was used to take Henry's life. He should have been safe walking home. Instead,

he became another young life lost to the brutal reality of knife crime in this country.

Henry had been stabbed multiple times and as his chest filled with blood, he tried to escape.

He was chased, abused and filmed by Vikram Degwa and others. When police arrived,

Henry was lying on the floor, barely able to sit up and plainly in severe medical distress.

With his final words, he told officers that he could not breathe. He told them he had been

stabbed. In fact, Henry told officers that he could not breathe nine times. He told them he

had been stabbed four times. The response from one officer was, I don't think you have mate.

The police have said they were misled by the murderer and that the scene when they arrived

was complex. Unfortunately, it seems to us the truth is much simpler. The police were told by

our son himself and by a member of the public who called 999 that they heard someone shout

that they had been stabbed. But the police did not believe them. Henry was pulled across the

gravel, his hands forced behind his back and he was placed in handcuffs. Instead of being treated

as a dying victim, police formally arrested Henry for assault and read him his rights.

That was the last thing he heard. Henry did not die with dignity. He did not die with

the care he deserved. He lost consciousness before anyone believed him. Let me be absolutely

clear, we hold Vikram Digwar solely and 100% responsible for the brutal murder of our son,

but Henry should not have died on the streets of Southampton in police custody.

The way he was treated was inhumane and degrading. His murderer, however, was afforded decency.

He was believed. He was not handcuffed when arrested. He was not handcuffed when transported

to the police station. As far as we understand, he was never handcuffed at all. And as Vikram

Digwar himself told the court, whilst under arrest for Henry's murder,

police even took him to the kitchen so he could choose his food. The contrast is unbearable.