Victim
Henry Nowak, an 18 year old student of Southampton University. Henry was a first year student studying Accounting and finance.
Perp
Vickrum Singh Digwa, a 23 year old man of Sikh background, but more importantly with a taste for martial-arts and knives. Community leaders (??) claimed they had raised concerns with the police regarding Vickrum's behaviour - this is denied by the police.
Crime
On the 3rd of December 2025, Henry was out celebrating the end of their university football seaon. Upon leaving The Hobit pub in Becois Valley alone at around 2300Hrs he headed back to his university digs alone while sending social media messages to his friends. On Belmont Road, near the junction with St Denys Road, he encountered Digwa, who lived with his parents nearby. A Snapchat video recovered from Nowak's phone captured him saying "Hello car" and singing to himself before yawning, while Digwa walked away. Nowak then said, "Innit bad man, what bad man. You're a bad man, say you're a bad man, go on." to which Digwa replied, "I am a bad man". The recording ended when Digwa snatched Nowak's phone.
Digwa then stabbed Nowak, inflicting a fatal chest wound, two deep stab wounds to his legs, a knife‑tip wound to his abdomen and a cut to his face. There were no eyewitnesses, but neighbours heard Nowak saying he had been stabbed and was dying and called the police. One neighbour heard shouts of "you're not getting away, big man" and "I'm going to slash you" or "I'm going to smash you". Another neighbour heard Nowak say "I am not a racist".
Digwa filmed Nowak as he attempted to flee by climbing a fence and collapsed. Digwa's brother, Gurpreet Digwa, and their parents arrived before the police. Digwa told his mother, Kiran Kaur, to take the knife and hide it at their home, which she did. His brother called the police, falsely claiming that Nowak had "verbally attacked my brother racially", with Nowak heard in the background saying, "No I didn't". Digwa's brother also said that no weapons had been used, and said the victim needed medical attention.
Four officers from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary attended. When the first officers arrived, they spoke to Digwa while Nowak lay mortally injured on the ground. Digwa told them that Nowak was drunk, had punched him, used a racial slur and pulled off his turban, and showed them what he said was a swollen eye and small bruise. An officer dragged Nowak across the gravel. Bodycam footage released on 2 June 2026, with the permission of Nowak's family, showed Nowak repeatedly telling officers that he had been stabbed and could not breathe. In response, one officer said, "Don't think you have, mate". The officers pulled Nowak's hands behind his back and handcuffed him.
An officer briefly lifted his top around the waist. Digwa said, "he hasn't been stabbed, I don't know why he's saying that", and an officer replied, "I know but we have to check don't we". Nowak said, "Please brother, I can't breathe". These were his last words. He was arrested and read his rights before an officer realised he was unresponsive; the handcuffs were removed, an ambulance called and CPR administered.
At 2355Hrs Digwa was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Despite the charge Digwa was not handcuffed. Henry Nowak was pronounced dead at 00:37Hrs.
Outcome
On 4 December, after Nowak's death was confirmed, Digwa was told in his cell that he was being rearrested on suspicion of murder. His custody was formally extended in court the following day. Police allowed Digwa to sit with his brother in a police van on the way to court and covertly recorded their conversation in Punjabi. Digwa told his brother that he had stabbed Nowak and showed him where he had inflicted the wounds. His brother said, "You should have hit him or beaten him up. Why did you use the kirpan?", to which Digwa responded, "I'm a fool. I'm an idiot". His brother advised him to claim self‑defence, and Digwa said he would not be able to do so if there were security cameras on the street. The judge later said in sentencing Digwa that a number of aggravating factors would not have applied had Digwa told the police what he had said to his brother.
Three days after Nowak died, police prepared an official statement describing him as the aggressor, but changed the wording after protest from his family.
Nowak's funeral took place at Brentwood Cathedral on 23 January 2026 and was attended by 650 people. The following month, a football match between the two university teams he had played for was held in his memory and raised over £40,000 for 2Wish, a charity supporting those affected by the sudden death of a child or young adult. On 27 June 2026, members of the Chafford Hundred Running Club organised a memorial run, with more than 200 people, including local MP Jen Craft, taking part.
Digwa went on trial on 14 May 2026 at Southampton Crown Court on charges of murder and carrying a knife in public. On 22 May, the judge, William Mousley KC, ordered him to face an alternative charge of manslaughter, to which he pleaded not guilty. Kaur was charged with assisting an offender by removing the weapon and also pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution, led by Nicholas Lobbenberg KC, told the jury that Nowak's blood alcohol level was below the drink-drive limit and that he had been filming a Snapchat video showing Digwa walking away from him before the stabbing. The footage was shown to the jury. Lobbenberg said that "the killing wasn't seen by anyone other than Henry and Vickrum Digwa" and that, after the stabbing, Digwa "chose to aggressively pursue" Nowak.
When asked why he had not told the police he stabbed Nowak, Digwa said he was scared because it was the "first time anything like this had ever happened". He alleged that Nowak had threatened him with racist remarks and begun recording him. He said that after being taunted he grabbed Nowak's phone and a fight broke out, during which Nowak said "I'm going to kill you". Digwa said he acted in self‑defence and testified that his parents arrived and took the knife home. Defence barristers told the jury they had to consider whether he acted "in the heat of the moment". A neighbour testified that he saw Digwa's mother try and stop officers from arresting him.
Digwa said in court that after his turban was knocked off, he had hair in his eyes as he stabbed Nowak. A bystander's video recorded between the stabbing and the arrival of the police showed his hair tied up, and loose when officers arrived. The prosecution said this showed a "dishonest claim of self defence taking root from the outset". Digwa told the court that he had been "respectful and polite" throughout his time in custody.
Digwa was carrying two ceremonial knives at the time of the murder: a small kirpan, required in Sikh religion, and the 21-centimetre (8.3 in) dagger used to stab Nowak. He chose to carry the larger dagger or kirpan as a member of the Nihang order, though expert witness Professor Gurnam Singh said it is not a strict requirement. Both knives were carried under religious exemption to knife laws. In sentencing remarks, the judge said the "privilege extended to practising Sikhs of being allowed to be in public with a bladed article and, particularly in respect of the large dagger, a highly dangerous weapon, easily accessible to the wearer, brings with it huge responsibility".
On 27 May, the jury retired to deliberate. On 28 May, it rejected the claims of self‑defence and found Digwa guilty of murder. He was also found guilty of carrying a knife in public, as the religious exemption was lost once it was used in an act of violence. Kaur was found guilty of assisting an offender. Sentencing was set for the 1st of June, with Kaur to be sentenced on the 17th of July.
Digwa received a life sentence for murder with a minimum term of 21 years. The judge had as a starting point a minimum term of 15 years, and added as aggravating factors: the number of stabs and nature of the weapon, the defendant's lies about Nowak, his filming Nowak's suffering, concealing evidence, putting the blame on Nowak, involving his mother in the crime, Nowak's vulnerability, community impact, and putting other Sikhs at risk of repercussions. This resulted in a sentence of 23 years, reduced to 21 years through taking into account the mitigating factors of Digwa's age and lack of previous convictions. For the crime of carrying a knife in public, he received a two-year sentence to run concurrently.
On 2 June, the day after the sentencing, Digwa appeared at Southampton Magistrates' Court to face charges of possessing offensive weapons (a flick knife, an extendable baton, knuckledusters, a machete, swords and kusaris) in a private place. His father, Moga Singh, and his brother, Gurpreet Digwa, faced similar charges. In addition, Gurpreet Digwa was charged with, on 4 December 2025, possessing offensive weapons (an extendable baton, an axe and a knife) in a public place, and furthermore of possessing a prohibited weapon (an air rifle). The three faced a total of 22 charges. The hearing was adjourned until July 2026. Moga Singh and Gurpreet Digwa appeared at Southampton Magistrates Court on 9 July; Digwa joined by videolink from HM Prison Frankland. All three pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and a trial date was set for September 2026 in the Magistrates Court.
On 15 June the Solicitor General, Ellie Reeves, announced that she had referred Digwa's sentence to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. Reeves said "This case horrified me, and I know that feeling is shared by the British public".
On 3 July the Court of Appeal confirmed that Digwa had applied for permission to appeal against his conviction and sentence. Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, was sentenced on 17 July 2026 to three years imprisonment for assisting an offender. She had removed the dagger from the crime scene.