Overview
- A jury at Southampton Crown Court found 23‑year‑old Vickrum Digwa guilty of murdering 18‑year‑old student Henry Nowak after trial evidence showed Nowak was stabbed five times with a 21cm kirpan, including a fatal chest wound.
- Court material included video and witness testimony of Digwa saying “I am a bad man” before the attack and prosecutors said Digwa lied to officers that he had been the victim of a racist assault.
- Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, was convicted of assisting an offender after removing the weapon from the scene and storing it at the family home.
- Hampshire Police apologised for handcuffing and arresting the critically injured Nowak on arrival, referred the incident to the IOPC, and cited pathologist evidence that the chest wound was likely incompatible with survival.
- The verdict has intensified public and political demands for release of body‑worn footage, renewed debate over legal limits on carrying kirpans, and set sentencing hearings for Digwa and Kaur in June and July respectively.