On 3 December 2025, Henry Nowak, an 18‑year‑old university student, was murdered in Southampton, Hampshire, England, by 23‑year‑old Vickrum Singh Digwa. Police bodycam footage showing officers arresting Nowak as he lay dying from stab wounds sparked public outrage, parliamentary debate, and wider discussion about policing and knife laws. Nowak had been walking home when he encountered Digwa, who stabbed him five times with a 21 cm (8.3 in) dagger he claimed was carried for Sikh religious reasons.
When police officers arrived at the scene, Nowak was lying on the ground saying he had been stabbed and could not breathe. Digwa denied having stabbed Nowak, and falsely told the officers that Nowak had assaulted him and used a racial slur, prompting the officers to handcuff and arrest Nowak moments before he lost consciousness and died. In response to Nowak revealing he had been stabbed, the arresting officer replied "You've been stabbed? Don't think you have, mate." Following the death of Nowak, the police force referred itself to the IOPC.
Digwa was convicted of murder in May 2026 and sentenced to life imprisonment the following month, with a minimum term of 21 years. His mother was convicted of assisting an offender by hiding the dagger, and further charges were brought against Digwa and other family members over weapons found at their home.
The release of the police bodycam footage prompted political controversy, a PCC‑commissioned enquiry, and protests in Southampton. Nowak's family called for a review of knife laws and Sikh exemptions, while politicians debated policing standards and allegations of "two‑tier policing". On 26 October 2026, the Home Secretary announced an independent review into the circumstances surrounding the murder.
Background
Henry Nowak was an 18-year-old student in his first year studying Accounting and Finance at the University of Southampton. He was born in Westminster and grew up in Chafford Hundred, a suburb of Grays, Essex, where he attended Harris Academy Chafford Hundred. One of four siblings, he was especially close to his older sister Olivia. At Southampton, he was a member of two university football teams and worked part-time in the local Morrisons.
Nowak's father was of Polish descent, and Nowak himself was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Poland.
Murder
On the evening of 3 December 2025, Nowak left his student accommodation in Portswood at 8:30 pm to celebrate the end of term with his football team-mates. At about 11:00 pm, CCTV recorded him entering The Hobbit pub in Bevois Valley alone and leaving a few minutes later without ordering a drink. Although he had consumed alcohol earlier, he was under the drink-drive limit. As he walked home, he sent messages and videos to friends on Snapchat. On Belmont Road, near the junction with St Denys Road, he encountered Digwa, who lived with his parents nearby. A Snapchat video recovered from Nowak's phone captured him saying "Hello car" and singing to himself before yawning, while Digwa walked away. Nowak then said, "Innit bad man, what bad man. You're a bad man, say you're a bad man, go on." to which Digwa replied, "I am a bad man". The recording ended when Digwa snatched Nowak's phone.
Digwa then stabbed Nowak, inflicting a fatal chest wound, two deep stab wounds to his legs, a knife‑tip wound to his abdomen and a cut to his face. There were no eyewitnesses, but neighbours heard Nowak saying he had been stabbed and was dying and called the police. One neighbour heard shouts of "you're not getting away, big man" and "I'm going to slash you" or "I'm going to smash you". Another neighbour heard Nowak say "I am not a racist". Digwa filmed Nowak as he attempted to flee by climbing a fence and collapsed. Digwa's brother, Gurpreet Digwa, and their parents arrived before the police. Digwa told his mother, Kiran Kaur, to take the knife and hide it at their home, which she did. His brother called the police, falsely claiming that Nowak had "verbally attacked my brother racially", with Nowak heard in the background saying, "No I didn't". Digwa's brother also said that no weapons had been used, and said the victim needed medical attention.
Four officers from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary attended. When the first officers arrived, they spoke to Digwa while Nowak lay mortally injured on the ground. Digwa told them that Nowak was drunk, had punched him, used a racial slur and pulled off his turban, and showed them what he said was a swollen eye and small bruise. An officer dragged Nowak across the gravel. Bodycam footage released on 2 June 2026, with the permission of Nowak's family, showed Nowak repeatedly telling officers that he had been stabbed and could not breathe. In response, one officer said, "Don't think you have, mate". The officers pulled Nowak's hands behind his back and handcuffed him. An officer briefly lifted his top around the waist. Digwa said, "he hasn't been stabbed, I don't know why he's saying that", and an officer replied, "I know but we have to check don't we". Nowak said, "Please brother, I can't breathe". These were his last words. He was arrested and read his rights before an officer realised he was unresponsive; the handcuffs were removed, an ambulance called and CPR administered. At 11:55 pm Digwa was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was not handcuffed. Nowak was pronounced dead at 12:37 am.
On 4 December, after Nowak's death was confirmed, Digwa was told in his cell that he was being rearrested on suspicion of murder. His custody was formally extended in court the following day. Police allowed Digwa to sit with his brother in a police van on the way to court and covertly recorded their conversation in Punjabi. Digwa told his brother that he had stabbed Nowak and showed him where he had inflicted the wounds. His brother said, "You should have hit him or beaten him up. Why did you use the kirpan?", to which Digwa responded, "I'm a fool. I'm an idiot". His brother advised him to claim self‑defence, and Digwa said he would not be able to do so if there were security cameras on the street. The judge later said in sentencing Digwa that a number of aggravating factors would not have applied had Digwa told the police what he had said to his brother.
Three days after Nowak died, police prepared an official statement describing him as the aggressor, but changed the wording after protest from his family.
Nowak's funeral took place at Brentwood Cathedral on 23 January 2026 and was attended by 650 people. The following month, a football match between the two university teams he had played for was held in his memory and raised over £40,000 for 2Wish, a charity supporting those affected by the sudden death of a child or young adult. On 27 June 2026, members of the Chafford Hundred Running Club organised a memorial run, with more than 200 people, including local MP Jen Craft, taking part.
Criminal proceedings
Trial
Digwa went on trial on 14 May 2026 at Southampton Crown Court on charges of murder and carrying a knife in public. On 22 May, the judge, William Mousley KC, ordered him to face an alternative charge of manslaughter, to which he pleaded not guilty. Kaur was charged with assisting an offender by removing the weapon and also pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution, led by Nicholas Lobbenberg KC, told the jury that Nowak's blood alcohol level was below the drink-drive limit and that he had been filming a Snapchat video showing Digwa walking away from him before the stabbing. The footage was shown to the jury. Lobbenberg said that "the killing wasn't seen by anyone other than Henry and Vickrum Digwa" and that, after the stabbing, Digwa "chose to aggressively pursue" Nowak.
When asked why he had not told the police he stabbed Nowak, Digwa said he was scared because it was the "first time anything like this had ever happened". He alleged that Nowak had threatened him with racist remarks and begun recording him. He said that after being taunted he grabbed Nowak's phone and a fight broke out, during which Nowak said "I'm going to kill you". Digwa said he acted in self‑defence and testified that his parents arrived and took the knife home. Defence barristers told the jury they had to consider whether he acted "in the heat of the moment". A neighbour testified that he saw Digwa's mother try and stop officers from arresting him.
Digwa said in court that after his turban was knocked off, he had hair in his eyes as he stabbed Nowak. A bystander's video recorded between the stabbing and the arrival of the police showed his hair tied up, and loose when officers arrived. The prosecution said this showed a "dishonest claim of self defence taking root from the outset". Digwa told the court that he had been "respectful and polite" throughout his time in custody.
Digwa was carrying two ceremonial knives at the time of the murder: a small kirpan, required in Sikh religion, and the 21-centimetre (8.3 in) dagger used to stab Nowak. He chose to carry the larger dagger or kirpan as a member of the Nihang order, though expert witness Professor Gurnam Singh said it is not a strict requirement. Both knives were carried under religious exemption to knife laws. In sentencing remarks, the judge said the "privilege extended to practising Sikhs of being allowed to be in public with a bladed article and, particularly in respect of the large dagger, a highly dangerous weapon, easily accessible to the wearer, brings with it huge responsibility".
On 27 May, the jury retired. On 28 May, it rejected the claims of self‑defence and found Digwa guilty of murder. He was also found guilty of carrying a knife in public, as the religious exemption was lost once it was used in an act of violence. Kaur was found guilty of assisting an offender. Sentencing was set for 1 June, with Kaur to be sentenced on 17 July.
It was later revealed that during the trial Hampshire Police had sought to release a statement addressing what it described as "disinformation" circulating online.
Perpetrator
Digwa is a 23-year-old British Sikh, the son of British-born Moga Singh and Indian-born Kiran Kaur, and was born and raised in Southampton. He was a member of the Nihang order, historically associated with martial practices and traditional weapons. With his older brother, Gurpreet Singh, he taught Gatka at the local gurdwara. In 2023, the brothers were reported to the police for stealing £1,000 worth of ceremonial knives from the gurdwara; they were arrested but released without charge.
A member of the local gurdwara described Digwa as argumentative and confrontational with "anger problems" and as a pathological liar. In January 2025, he was hired as a trainee at a local accountancy firm. A photograph from his workplace appears to show him wearing a ceremonial dagger in an external sheath. At trial, the prosecution said he had a weapons obsession, kept an "arsenal of weapons" in his bedroom and described the murder weapon "in loving terms". After the trial, footage emerged of Digwa in his garden with an air gun, filmed by a neighbour three years earlier.
Sentencing of Digwa and Kaur
During the sentencing of Digwa on 1 June, the judge said that Digwa's claim of being barged into by Nowak was a lie, but that Nowak "cheekily" called him a "bad man". The judge said: "You lied [to your brother] that you had been attacked, picking up on his question about whether it had been accompanied by racism by falsely claiming that Henry had called you a 'Paki'. I am sure that Henry had said nothing racist. You are the only person to make that claim and it is completely at odds with his previous character." The judge also said that during the confrontation, when Digwa grabbed Nowak's phone to prevent being filmed, it appeared that Digwa's turban "may have been knocked, pulled or, potentially, punched off" his head. The judge said that, as the turban is a sacred part of Sikh identity, it was understandable that Digwa may have perceived this as a sign of disrespect and that it would have increased his anger. He said Digwa had given a "convincing but wholly false narrative of the incident".
At sentencing, the judge cited an assessment of the pathologist, stating: "No emergency medical treatment would have permitted access to the bleeding vein. In simple terms, he would not have survived, however quickly he received first aid, CPR or expert medical treatment". The assessment indicated that the police delay in treating Nowak or calling an ambulance did not lead to his death.
Digwa received a life sentence for murder with a minimum term of 21 years. The judge had as a starting point a minimum term of 15 years, and added the following as aggravating factors: the number of stabs and nature of the weapon, the defendant's lies about Nowak, his filming Nowak's suffering, concealing evidence, putting the blame on Nowak, involving his mother in the crime, Nowak's vulnerability, community impact, and putting other Sikhs at risk of repercussions. This resulted in a sentence of 23 years, reduced to 21 years through taking into account the mitigating factors of Digwa's age and lack of previous convictions. For the crime of carrying a knife in public, he received a two-year sentence to run concurrently.
Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, was sentenced on 17 July 2026 to three years imprisonment for assisting an offender. She had removed the dagger from the crime scene.