Henry Nowak, 18, stabbed to death in Southampton in December 2025

Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old student with British and Polish citizenship, was fatally stabbed in the Portswood area of Southampton, southern England, in December 2025. The attacker was Vickrum Digwa, who was 23 at the time.

The case drew wide attention in the UK and Poland after reports and police body-camera footage showed that officers who arrived at the scene had handcuffed the wounded teenager, who died shortly afterwards. Digwa told officers that he had been the victim of a racial attack, a claim later rejected in court. The handling of the incident prompted questions about police conduct and sparked a national debate.

In 2026 a jury found Digwa guilty of murder, and he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years before he could be considered for parole. The sentence was later referred to the Court of Appeal under the "unduly lenient sentence" scheme, which lets the Attorney General's office ask judges to review punishments seen as too low. Earlier reports placed the attack in Wolverhampton, but it took place in Southampton.