CALGARY — The mother of the man convicted of murdering 18-year-old university student Henry Nowak in England is reportedly set to be released from prison after serving less than half of her three-year sentence.Kiran Kaur, 53, was sentenced in July for helping her son, Vickrum Digwa, conceal the knife used to fatally stab Nowak in Southampton on December 3, 2025.According to Sky News, Kaur is expected to be released in December under the British government's early-release scheme, approximately one year after Nowak's death.Kaur was convicted after removing the knife used in the attack from the crime scene before police arrived and taking it to the family home. Investigators did not recover the weapon until seven days later.Vickrum Singh Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in June, with a minimum term of 21 years. .Nowak, a first-year accounting and finance student at the University of Southampton, had been walking home after a night out with his football team when he encountered Digwa.During the confrontation, Digwa stabbed Nowak five times with a 21-centimetre ceremonial blade, inflicting a fatal wound to his heart.The case attracted widespread attention after police body-camera footage revealed that responding officers mistakenly arrested and handcuffed Nowak while he was dying.Digwa had falsely accused Nowak of racially abusing and assaulting him, a claim rejected by jurors during his murder trial.Despite Nowak repeatedly telling officers that he had been stabbed and was struggling to breathe, police initially treated him as a suspect.Hampshire Police later apologized for its handling of the incident, which prompted public criticism and investigations into the conduct of responding officers..Further details about Kaur's involvement emerged in July when prosecutors released footage capturing Digwa instructing his mother in Punjabi to remove the murder weapon.According to ITV News, Kaur took the knife home and placed it among other ceremonial weapons in her son's bedroom.During sentencing, Judge William Mousley KC said Kaur knew or believed her son had stabbed Nowak and had acted to help him avoid detection.The judge also criticized her actions for reinforcing Digwa's false account of the confrontation, which contributed to Nowak being treated as a suspect.Following her sentencing, Nowak's family expressed disappointment and pledged to continue seeking answers about the circumstances surrounding his death.Kaur's expected release comes as the British government expands an early-release program intended to address overcrowding in prisons across England and Wales. The policy, which came into effect on October 1, is expected to result in approximately 5,000 prisoners being released in stages over the next year..A British government spokesperson told Sky News that officials remained mindful of the impact of Nowak's death on his family and friends."We will always seek to deport foreign criminals at the first opportunity," the spokesperson said.Despite being eligible for early release, Kaur is also challenging her sentence and is scheduled to appear before the Court of Appeal on November 5. Digwa is expected to appeal his sentence on the same day, arguing that the punishment is ''too severe.''
