Police apologise for arresting dying teen after killer's 'wicked' racism lie - as man found guilty of ceremonial knife murder
Jurors rejected Digwa’s self-defense claim after prosecutors said he used a 21cm kirpan and blamed the victim with a racist-attack lie.
- A jury convicted 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa of murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak with a 21cm ceremonial kirpan on Belmont Road in Southampton on December 3, 2025.
- Following the attack, Digwa told police a "wicked lie" that he was the victim of a racist assault, leading officers to handcuff the dying Nowak instead of providing immediate aid.
- Prosecutors revealed Digwa had trained with weapons since age 12 and kept an "arsenal of weapons" at home; the jury also convicted his mother, Kiran Kaur, of assisting an offender by removing the weapon.
- Judge William Mousley will sentence Digwa on Monday at Southampton Crown Court, while tech billionaire Elon Musk offered to fund a private prosecution and the Independent Office for Police Conduct investigates the officers' response.
- Kaur faces sentencing on July 17, four days after Digwa's Monday hearing, as the case concludes following the jury's rejection of his self-defense claims.
47 Articles
47 Articles
British Sikh Man Convicted of Murder After Claiming Self-Defence
A British Sikh man, claiming self-defence for carrying a knife, was found guilty of murdering a student in southeast England. Vickrum Digwa was convicted of stabbing Henry Nowak with a 21-cm blade. The case highlighted legal issues relating to the Sikh practice of carrying kirpans.
Henry Nowak's last words were "I can't breathe" while his lungs filled with blood.
Sikh Man Convicted of Murdering Southampton Student Henry Nowak
A Southampton jury has found a Sikh man, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, guilty of murdering university student Henry Nowak after stabbing him with a Sikh ceremonial knife during a confrontation last December. Southampton Crown Court heard that 18-year-old Nowak, a first-year student at the University of Southampton, was attacked while walking home from a night out. Digwa stabbed him five times with a 21cm knife, including a fatal wound to the chest.…
Evening Standard
Sikh man guilty of murder of 18-year-old student with ceremonial knife
Henry Nowak died after being stabbed five times by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton in December 2025.
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