Henry Nowak’s godmother describes his family’s pain over his final moments in heartbreaking tribute

Kelly Hatchard said the footage of the tragic teenager’s final moments is something they ‘will never ever be able to erase’ from their minds

The godmother of Henry Nowak has paid tribute to the tragic teenager and opened up about the ‘living nightmare’ his family have experienced.

Kelly Hatchard shared a poignant post on social media in honour of her best friend Lucy’s ‘loving, caring, intelligent and hardworking’ son who died on 3 December, 2025.

She explained that Henry’s loved ones will forever be haunted by him being ‘let down’ in his final moments – and said they will ‘never be able to erase’ the image of him being handcuffed as he lay dying from their minds.

Henry had been heading back to his university’s halls of residence in Southampton on that fateful evening late last year, when he encountered Vickrum Digwa, in what Judge William Mousley described as a ‘chance meeting’.

The 18-year-old was subsequently attacked by Digwa, 23, who then claimed he had been racially abused by Henry when Hampshire Police officers arrived.

Harrowing body-worn camera footage from the incident shows how the first-year uni student told the cops he had ‘been stabbed’. In response, one officer said: “Don’t think you have, mate.”

The responding officers then proceeded to handcuff Henry and read him his rights – as he lay dying.

Henry Nowak, 18, pictured with his father Mark (Family Handout/PA Wire)

On Monday (1 June), Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years after being found guilty of Henry’s murder.

A court heard how the killer stabbed the student with a ceremonial knife that sported a 21cm blade. Prosecutors said it was a kirpan, which he carried as part of his Sikh religion.

Now, Henry’s godmother Kelly has shared a poignant tribute online about the slain teenager – who was much more than just ‘a headline or a court case’ to her.

“He was my best friends funny, caring, cheeky son,” she said in a moving post shared to Facebook. “Henry had a way of making people smile without even trying.

“He had so much life ahead of him, so many plans, and so much love to give. When Henry was just a baby, Lucy gave me the honour of being his godmother. Our kids, like us shared their childhood.”

She explained the Nowak family are ‘normal people’ – and ‘life as they knew it stopped’ on 5 December last year, when they received the news that Henry had been fatally attacked.

Kelly said that as well as experiencing the ‘pain of losing Henry’, she has also dealt with the heartbreak of watching his family have ‘their entire world torn apart’.

The student, 18, was fatally stabbed in Southampton in December last year (Family Handout/PA Wire)

Kelly explained that she has been in Henry’s life since he was born, as she has been best friends with his mother Lucy and his aunt Katie since they were children.

“The family make everyone feel welcome,” she said of the Nowaks. “Their home is filled with kindness, warmth and laughter. No matter what life throws at them they always find a way to bring light to those around them. They are generous with their time, compassionate in their hearts, and the sort of people who make others feel like family too, including me and then my children.

“Their laughter is infectious, their support unwavering, and their love for one another shines through in everything they do.

“My heart is broken for them, a very large part of them died on the day that monster chose to rip Henry from their lives. Yet even through their darkest days they continued to be the wonderful people that they are. Their focus during these dark times was to shine a light on and raise money for the charity that has helped them.”

Digwa is a ‘monster’

Kelly said the ‘heartache continued’ for Henry’s loved ones in the months following his murder, as Digwa stood trial.

“Being subjected to sit in a room with the monster who brutally murdered their son and watch the lies spill so easily from his mouth,” Henry’s godmother wrote.

“A man who has not once showed an an ounce of remorse for what he did. They endured a living nightmare. Thinking that things could not possibly get worse, in the last few weeks they have learned that the very institution that is there to protect us not only ignored Henry’s plea for help, but they sided with the monster who put him on the ground.

“Henry’s family learned that his last moments were not only spent so afraid of the monster who attacked him but he was then wronged and let down by the police officer who I have no doubt, Henry assumed was there to help him.

“That police officer handcuffed Henry and read him his rights. The last thing my best friend’s beautiful boy heard before we lost him forever.”

Kelly shared some snaps of her with her beloved godson Henry alongside her moving tribute (Facebook/Kelly Hatchard)

Kelly went on to say this is an image that Henry’s loved ones ‘will never ever be able to erase from our minds’.

“Family, friends and now the world, will have seen that image and we all have to live with it forever,” she heartbreakingly added.

“Shame on the monster who took you, shame on the police officer who should have helped you and shame on the organisation that trained the police officer to side with an incorrect racist slur over a dying young man.

“Shame on you all!! You treated a loving caring intelligent hardworking young man, with such disregard and disrespect. You treated Henry’s family, such good people, with such dishonesty!

“The lies have been unforgivable!! HOW DARE YOU. Henry deserved so much more from this life. Henry and his family have been let down so badly.”

Henry’s godmother vowed to continue ‘fighting until the end’, and signed off her emotional post saying: “The world will know your name. You changed our lives for the better for being a part of it, I believe you will now go on to change the lives of others by the legacy you will leave. God bless you my darling.”