Man Found Guilty of Murdering Student With Ceremonial Knife

A jury at Southampton Crown Court found Vickrum Digwa guilty of murdering first-year university student Henry Nowak. Nowak, 18, was stabbed to death while walking home from a night out in Southampton on 3 December. Digwa, 23, used a 21-centimetre ceremonial knife he said he carried as part of his Sikh faith.

Digwa told the court he acted in self-defence after Nowak used a racist insult, punched him, and knocked his turban off. The jury rejected the defence and convicted him of murder. Digwa was also found guilty of carrying a knife in public. His mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, was convicted of assisting an offender.

Kaur appeared visibly upset when the verdicts were read. Digwa showed little emotion and looked around the courtroom.