Vickrum Digwa, 23, was convicted of murdering university student Henry Nowak, 18, in Southampton on December 3, 2025. Digwa stabbed Nowak five times with a 21cm knife described as a Sikh kirpan during an altercation in the city centre [1, 2, 3].
Digwa said he carried the knife daily for religious reasons and claimed Nowak racially abused him, punched him, knocked off his turban, and was aggressive in their confrontation. "He carried that knife in the same way that he does every day in his life: as part of his religion," Digwa's lawyer Jeremy Wainwright KC said [1, 3]. However, the prosecution dismissed the racism claim as a "wicked lie," according to prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC [1, 2].
The jury of 8 women and 4 men found Digwa guilty of murder and carrying a knife in public [2, 3]. Digwa was also found guilty of carrying a larger blade concealed under his clothing beyond the small kirpan permitted by Sikh faith [1, 3].
Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, was convicted of assisting an offender after removing the weapon from the scene following the stabbing [2, 3].
At the scene, police handcuffed Nowak before he lost consciousness. Hampshire police deputy chief constable Robert France apologized, saying, "I’m sorry that Henry was handcuffed and arrested. He was the victim" [1, 2]. Hampshire police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct are investigating the officers’ actions during the incident [1].
Judge William Mousley KC, presiding over the trial, described it as a "particularly difficult case" and thanked the jury for their service [3]. Nowak was recorded in a Snapchat video saying, "Say you are a badman, go on," to which Digwa replied, "I am a badman" [2].
The verdict concluded the trial held from May 26 to 27, 2026. Sentencing is expected to take place in the coming weeks [1, 3].
