Vickrum Digwa has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years for the murder of University of Southampton student Henry Nowak.
Digwa, 23, stabbed the 18-year-old finance student five times with a 21cm blade on Belmont Road, Southampton, on December 3, 2025.
Sentencing him, Judge William Mousley KC said Henry was “a much loved, kind, hard working and ambitious young man, devoted to his family and with a bright future”. Addressing Digwa, he said: “You Vickrum Digwa murdered him. You have brought misery and a lifetime of loss upon his family and great sadness to everyone who knew him.”
The judge said Digwa had brought “shame upon your family and your religion” and added: “Your actions have stirred up racial tension in Southampton and across the country which have made many Sikhs worried about their safety.”
The court heard Henry was walking back to his student accommodation after a night out when the fatal encounter took place. Judge Mousley said Henry was not drunk, although he may have been affected slightly by alcohol.
The judge said Digwa was sober and was carrying a large Sikh dagger in a belt. He told the court that while observant Sikhs may wear a kirpan, it is generally a small knife hidden from view, and that it is a fundamental principle of Sikhism that such a blade should never be carried for an offensive purpose.
Digwa told police that Henry had racially abused him, punched him and knocked off his turban, and claimed he acted in self-defence. He said he stabbed Henry in the back of the legs and did not realise he had caused a fatal chest wound.
The prosecution rejected that account and said Digwa had lied to police. Judge Mousley said Digwa had given officers a “convincing but wholly false narrative” when they arrived, including claiming Henry was exaggerating and accusing him of being the aggressor.
The judge also rejected Digwa’s claim that Henry had barged into him on the pavement and started the confrontation. He said Henry may have “cheekily” suggested Digwa was a “bad man”, but that Digwa’s account of how events began was untrue.
The court heard police handcuffed Henry before discovering the fatal wound and starting treatment. Judge Mousley said: “The knife wound would not have been obvious in the dark.” He added that Henry’s complaints that he had been stabbed and was struggling to breathe would not necessarily have told officers how serious the incident had become.
Henry died despite attempts to save him.
During the sentencing hearing, victim personal statements from Henry’s family described the impact of his death. His father, Mark Nowak, said he lay on his bed “hugging his pillows, wanting and needing to be close to him”.
Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC described Digwa as “a man with a weapons obsession” and argued for a starting point of 25 years when calculating the minimum term. Defence barrister Jeremy Wainwright KC said Digwa had previously been of good character and had not gone out that night intending to commit a crime.
A verbal altercation later broke out in court between supporters of the victim and defendant as family members were leaving, before security staff and relatives intervened.