Court hears how Essex student was killed by man wielding large knife
The trial has revealed chilling phone footage before the fatal stabbing
A first-year university student from Essex was fatally stabbed by a man carrying a large knife after declaring "I'm a bad man," according to evidence presented at Southampton Crown Court.
Vikrum Digwa is currently on trial accused of murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak from Chafford Hundred, Essex.
The incident occurred in Belmont Road, Southampton, on 3rd December 2025.
Digwa, 23, faces charges of murder and carrying a knife in public, while his mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, is accused of assisting by removing the weapon from the scene.
Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC told the court that Mr Nowak, an accountancy and finance student, was sending Snapchat videos to his friends while returning home from a night out with his football teammates.
Mr Lobbenberg described how Mr Nowak’s phone footage recorded his interaction with Digwa.
He showed Digwa openly carrying a large knife in a sheath over his clothing.
The prosecution described how shortly after midnight, Mr Nowak had been stabbed with this "extremely large" knife.
Witnesses heard Mr Nowak’s last moments as he cried out, mentioning he had been stabbed and was dying.
Despite climbing onto a bin and over a fence to escape, Mr Nowak succumbed to his injuries, leaving a blood trail in his wake.
A video recovered from Mr Nowak’s phone, found in Digwa’s pocket, was shown to the jury.
It depicted Mr Nowak greeting Digwa and singing before asking Digwa to confirm he was a "bad man."
Digwa affirmed this before the recording abruptly ended.
The court learned that Digwa's mother, father, and brother were at the scene shortly after the stabbing.
Footage showed Kaur retrieving the knife and taking it to their home in St Denys Road, where it was later found by police.
Mr Lobbenberg added that Digwa initially denied the stabbing while claiming racial abuse and an attack by Mr Nowak.
Digwa accused Mr Nowak of being a racist and drunk, but Mr Nowak denied attacking him and insisted he was the one stabbed.
After police arrived, they handcuffed Mr Nowak to provide first aid; however, he collapsed and died despite emergency intervention.
A post-mortem revealed Mr Nowak suffered four stab wounds and a cut to his jaw, with two injuries on the back of his legs.
The knife contained blood and fatty tissue matched to Mr Nowak and hairs from Digwa.
Kaur's DNA was discovered on the sheath of the blade.
In court, it was stated that Digwa had a kirpan knife around his neck for religious reasons alongside the large knife.
While Sikhism requires followers to carry certain items, including a kirpan, Mr Lobbenberg argued that Digwa's carrying of a large knife was a personal choice by Mr Digwa rather than a religious necessity.
Both Digwa and Kaur deny the charges against them, and the trial is set to continue.