Vickrum Digwa stabbed a university student to death with a 21-centimeter ceremonial blade he wore around his neck in a sheath. A jury at Southampton Crown Court found him guilty of murder on Wednesday.
The victim, Henry Nowak, was 18 years old and a first-year student at the University of Southampton. He had been walking home from a night out on December 3 when the attack happened on Belmont Road at around 11:30 p.m. Neighbors heard Nowak say he had been stabbed and was dying. He tried to climb over a fence to escape, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He was stabbed five times, including twice in the back of his legs, once in the face, and once in the chest. The chest wound was fatal, according to the prosecution.
Digwa told the court he had acted in self-defense, claiming Nowak had used a racist insult, punched him, and knocked his turban off. The jury rejected that account. According to BBC News, the court was told Digwa had carried the knife as part of his Sikh faith. The court heard that after the attack Digwa gave the blade to his mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, and it was later found at their family home along with more than 20 other Sikh weapons.
Kaur was found guilty of assisting an offender. She appeared visibly upset in the dock as the verdicts were read. Digwa showed little emotion and gazed out into the courtroom. Sobs could be heard from the public gallery. Nowak's family let out a sigh and hugged each other as they left the room.
Digwa was also found guilty of carrying a knife in public.
The case drew attention beyond the courtroom because of what happened when police first arrived on the scene. Officers initially handcuffed Nowak, not knowing he was the victim, before discovering his fatal injury a short time later. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over the matter.
Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Robert France apologized for what happened and explained why the scene had been so difficult to read. "This was an extremely complex investigation and actually the scene itself was extremely complex when officers arrived," he told BBC News. "They were lied to in the 999 call by Henry's killer, they were lied to as they arrived at the scene and we know that as a result they didn't understand what had happened for several minutes and that is an absolute tragedy."
Digwa called a 999 emergency line but told dispatchers he had been attacked, giving no indication that Nowak had been injured.
Nowak was from Chafford Hundred in Essex. His blood alcohol level at the time of the attack was below the legal drink-drive limit.
Digwa is set to be sentenced Monday at Southampton Crown Court. Kaur's sentencing is scheduled for July 17.
