Henry Nowak’s killer denies weapons charges alongside father and brother after home arsenal discovery
The legal fallout surrounding the tragic murder of University of Southampton student Henry Nowak has expanded inside the judicial system. Vickrum Digwa, who was recently jailed for life for the random slaying of the 18-year-old student, has officially pleaded not guilty to multiple weapons charges. The 23-year-old killer appeared before Southampton Magistrates’ Court alongside his father, Moga Singh, and his brother, Gurpreet Digwa, where all three defendants firmly denied involvement with a massive arsenal of illegal weapons recovered by law enforcement units inside their family residence.
The fresh criminal charges stem from a targeted police raid executed on December 4, 2025, exactly one day after Henry Nowak was fatally knifed in a Southampton street. During the search of the family home, authorities discovered a highly dangerous stash of tactical gear and historical weaponry. Vickrum Digwa now faces six separate counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a private place, with the recovered cache including three machetes, 37 swords, three specialized ninja swords, two flick-knives or gravity knives, eight pairs of knuckledusters, an extendable baton, and a traditional manriki-gusari chain weapon.
His father, 52-year-old Moga Singh, and his brother, 27-year-old Gurpreet Digwa, face the exact same six storage charges. However, Gurpreet Digwa faces an additional four criminal counts for weapons violations committed outside the private residence. These specific public offenses include the possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, carrying an asp, possession of an unpermitted air rifle, carrying an axe in a public space, and carrying a traditional kirpan knife in a public area. District Judge Henry Gordon formally processed the family’s mass pleas, setting a definitive trial date for September 27, 2027, preceded by an administrative case management hearing on June 4, 2027.
The weapons discovery has intensified public scrutiny surrounding the initial murder case, which had already provoked severe political backlash. On the night of the killing, Vickrum Digwa executed a random street ambush, stabbing the defenseless teenager five times with a ceremonial sword as Nowak walked home from a night out. When emergency responders arrived, Digwa exploited a “racism trump card,” falsely accusing the dying student of hurling racial slurs. This manipulation caused responding officers to immediately place a critically bleeding Nowak in handcuffs while ignoring his physical state.
Official police bodycam footage later exposed the tragic reality of the encounter, capturing the dying teenager informing the officers four times that he had been stabbed, only for a law enforcement official to dismissively reply, “I don’t think you have, mate.” Nowak lost consciousness shortly after and tragically passed away just one hour later. The severe operational failures committed by the attending units have triggered an independent investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into Hampshire Police’s actions.
During the initial murder sentencing, the victim’s family provided devastating impact statements detailing the permanent trauma caused by both the attack and the degrading police response. His mother, Lucy Ross, described the emotional agony as a pain beyond anything she knew existed, while his father, Mark, stated he would be haunted forever by the loss. Mark sharply condemned the treatment of his son behind the police barrier, branding it as inhumane and noting that Henry was denied basic dignity and appropriate medical care because authorities refused to believe his cries for help until it was too late.
