Police officers handcuffed a dying 18-year-old behind his back as he repeatedly told them he had been stabbed and could not breathe. That sequence, captured on body-worn cameras and released with his family’s permission, sits at the centre of the Henry Nowak murder case that continues to unsettle public confidence in policing.
Henry Nowak, a first-year finance student at the University of Southampton, was stabbed to death on 3 December 2025 on Belmont Road in Portswood. The attacker, Vickrum Singh Digwa, then aged 22 or 23, approached him after an interaction in which Nowak had been filming. Digwa used a large dagger, inflicting multiple wounds.
At the scene Digwa told officers that Nowak had racially abused him, assaulted him and knocked off his turban. He claimed he had acted in self-defence. The judge who later sentenced him recorded that body-worn footage taken at the scene showed no independent evidence of any injury to Digwa.
Conviction and sentencing
Digwa was convicted of murder at Southampton Crown Court in May 2026. On 1 June that year Recorder William Mousley KC sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years. In the official sentencing remarks the judge stated simply: "Henry Nowak, aged 18, died on 3/12/2025." He added: "You, Vickrum Digwa, murdered him."
Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, was later convicted of assisting an offender by hiding the murder weapon. She received a three-year sentence on 17 July 2026.
Bodycam evidence
The footage released by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary on 2 June 2026 records Nowak lying on the ground. He can be heard telling officers he had been stabbed and that he could not breathe. Instead of immediate medical attention the officers handcuffed him behind his back. Only after roughly a minute did they appear to recognise the severity of his injuries, remove the restraints and begin CPR.
