Lying man jailed for killing scholar with ceremonial sword as he advised him ‘I’m a nasty man’

Sikh man Vickrum Digwa has been jailed at Southampton Crown Court for life with a minimum term of 21 years for the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak last year

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A Sikh man has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 21 years for the murder of a university student who he falsely claimed had racially abused him after he had fatally stabbed him with a ceremonial knife.

Vickrum Digwa, was found guilty at Southampton Crown Court of the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, from Chafford Hundred, Essex.

Digwa told police a “wicked lie” that he was the victim of a racist attack after he stabbed the finance student five times with a ceremonial sword in the incident in Belmont Road, Southampton, on December 3 in 2025.

He was filmed by his victim telling him “I am a bad man” moments before the knife attack, which included two stab wounds to the back of Mr Nowak’s legs and a fatal wound to his heart.

The 23-year-old was also convicted of carrying a bladed weapon in public and his mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, was found guilty of assisting an offender by removing the weapon from the scene.

Judge William Mousley KC told the defendant: “Henry Nowak, aged 18, died on 3rd December 2025, he was a much-loved, kind, hard-working and ambitious young man, devoted to his family and with a bright future.

“He was a first-year student at Southampton University, the first in his family to go to university, he was careful and principled, full of humour, warmth and promise.

“You, Vickrum Digwa, murdered him, by doing so you robbed him of all those he loved, all the things he cared about and liked to do.

“He would have been expected to live a long and hopefully happy and fulfilling life. You have brought misery and a lifetime of loss upon his family, and great sadness to everyone who knew him.”

Giving evidence, the defendant told the court that Mr Nowak, who he described as drunk, had racially abused him before punching him and knocking his turban off.

He said he had stabbed Mr Nowak to the back of his legs in self-defence after Mr Nowak had threatened him and grabbed him by the hair, but said he had not realised at the time he had caused the fatal stab wound to his chest.

But the prosecution said Digwa had told a “wicked lie” to police who attended the scene by telling them he had been the victim of a racist attack.

He also “lied” by telling officers that he had not stabbed Mr Nowak despite the student’s pleas for help as he told the police that he was injured.

This led the officers to arrest Mr Nowak and putting him in handcuffs moments before he collapsed and became unconscious before dying despite their efforts to give him first aid.

Lucy, the mother of Henry, said in a statement read to the court: “Henry was ambitious, determined and full of life, he was a messy sod and always hungry, but he had his whole life ahead of him, that future has been cruelly taken away.

“The impact of his loss has been devastating not only for me but for our entire family and for all who knew him, we are learning to support one another through this unimaginable grief, but the pain is constant, our family will never be the same.

“He will never be forgotten and he will always be loved beyond words. No sentence handed down will bring Henry back.”

She also described the moment her son told her, his face “beaming”, that he had been an offered a place to study at the University of Southampton while on holiday in Greece, adding: “It was one of the proudest moments of my life and a moment I will treasure forever.”

Mark Nowak, the father of Henry Nowak, broke down in tears as he read his victim impact statement to the court in which he described the family’s devastation at the loss of his “beautiful son”.

He said: “As a father, it is my job to protect my child and I failed to keep him safe, I was not there when he needed me most, the thought of him lying in the road, scared, bleeding to death will haunt me forever.”

Mr Nowak added: “I have been traumatised by not knowing exactly what happened that night. A parent losing a child is the worst thing in the world but not knowing how it happened is like a fate worse than hell.”

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