The man convicted of murdering 18-year-old student Henry Nowak has been sentenced to life in prison, bringing a measure of closure to a case that sparked outrage across Britain not only because of the killing itself, but because police initially treated the dying teenager as a suspect rather than a victim.
Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced Monday at Southampton Crown Court to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years for the December 2025 stabbing death of Nowak. During sentencing, Judge William Mousley KC delivered a scathing assessment of Digwa’s conduct, accusing him of telling wicked lies, fabricating allegations of racism, and conspiring to cover up the killing even while police were listening.
The judge rejected Digwa’s claims that Nowak had racially abused him before the attack, concluding that there was no evidence the teenager had used any racist language and describing the allegation as entirely inconsistent with his character.
The case has become one of the most controversial criminal investigations in recent British memory due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Nowak’s final moments.
According to evidence presented at trial, Nowak was walking home to his university accommodation in Southampton after an evening out when he encountered Digwa, who was carrying a Sikh ceremonial dagger known as a kirpan. The court found that Digwa stabbed the unarmed student multiple times, including a fatal wound to the chest that pierced a major vein and caused catastrophic internal bleeding.
Judge Mousley rejected Digwa’s claim that he acted in self-defense after being bumped into on the sidewalk, describing the account as one of many falsehoods told after the attack.
After the stabbing, members of Digwa’s family arrived at the scene and restrained the wounded teenager that had tried to escape while reporting to police that Digwa had been the victim of a racist assault. Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, removed the murder weapon from the scene and hid it at the family home, according to prosecutors.
When officers arrived, they accepted Digwa’s version of events and placed the bleeding teenager in handcuffs on suspicion of assault. Despite repeatedly telling officers he had been stabbed, Nowak was treated as the aggressor.
Body-camera footage shown in court revealed one officer responding to Nowak’s pleas by saying, “I don’t think you have, mate.”
Only after Nowak lost consciousness did officers begin CPR.
The tragic irony is difficult to ignore. While the actual killer was initially treated as a victim of alleged racism, the genuine victim was arrested as he lay dying on the pavement. By the time officers realized the severity of his injuries, it was too late.
The judge also highlighted evidence that Digwa and his brother attempted to coordinate a false self-defense narrative after the attack. Secret recordings captured during a police transport allegedly revealed the pair discussing how to avoid responsibility for the killing in a foreign language.
“You decided, much as you had at the scene, to try to cover it up,” Mousley said.
Following the sentencing, Henry’s father, Mark Nowak, delivered an emotional statement criticizing both Digwa and the police response that followed.
While emphasizing that Digwa alone was responsible for his son’s murder, he said Henry should never have spent his final moments in handcuffs.
“He told police he had been stabbed four times,” Nowak said. “Instead of being treated like a dying victim, police arrested him for assault.”
The elder Nowak described the contrast between how his son and his killer were treated as “unbearable.”
“Henry did not die with dignity,” he said. “He did not die with the care he deserved. He lost consciousness before anyone believed him.”
By contrast, he noted, Digwa was never handcuffed and was afforded a level of courtesy and trust that his dying son was denied, even allowed to choose his own meal in jail.
Critics argue that officers became so focused on the possibility of a hate crime that they failed to recognize a life-threatening emergency unfolding directly in front of them.
Even though pathologists later testified that the fatal chest wound may not have been survivable regardless of treatment, many observers argue that this does not excuse the conduct captured on police body cameras. The controversy is not simply about whether Nowak could have been saved, but about the fact that a teenager repeatedly telling officers he had been stabbed was dismissed, arrested, and left to spend his final conscious moments being treated as a criminal.
Police have since apologized for handcuffing Nowak, though the family continues to call for a full independent investigation into the officers’ actions.
Meanwhile, Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, was convicted of assisting an offender for removing and concealing the murder weapon. She is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
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