Vickrum Digwa Gets Life Sentence for Murder of Southampton Student Henry Nowak

Vickrum Digwa was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years for the murder of Southampton university student Henry Nowak on 3 December 2025. Within 36 hours of the killing, Digwa was recorded in the back of a police van admitting to his brother Gurpreet that he had stabbed Nowak multiple times.

The brothers spoke in Punjabi while being driven between a police station and a court for a custody extension hearing on 5 December 2025.

A transcript of the exchange, obtained by the BBC from the Crown Prosecution Service, was used during the murder trial. Gurpreet Digwa asked what his brother had done. " Vickrum Digwa said it was his fault.

The murder weapon was an 8in (21cm) dagger carried in a cross-body sheath. Digwa had worn a small kirpan around his neck but used the larger blade. Gurpreet advised his brother to claim he had used "Dui" or "Dorri" instead of "Shura - knife" and later told him to say he used a kirpan.

Gurpreet prayed for about two-and-a-half minutes, ending with: "We have not done anything wrong God, please have mercy on us and protect us. " Vickrum Digwa initially told police and family he had been racially attacked and had only pushed and punched Nowak in self-defence. He later said: "Mum was making a lot of noise.

Kiran Kaur, the brothers' mother, was convicted of assisting an offender after removing the weapon from the scene at Vickrum Digwa's request. She is due to be sentenced later this month. Gurpreet Digwa and Moga Singh were not charged in relation to the murder.

Vickrum Digwa, Gurpreet Digwa and Moga Singh each face multiple weapons offences dated the same day Nowak was declared dead. The weapons recovered from the family home in St Denys Road, Southampton, included machetes, knuckledusters, flick-knives and 37 swords. Gurpreet Digwa also faces four charges of possessing weapons in a public place in a car in Belmont Road.