Henry Nowak case: killer appeals sentence as Court of Appeal also reviews it

Vickrum Digwa, sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Henry Nowak, has lodged an appeal against his sentence. The appeal was reported by BBC News and is confirmed by a government document on the independent review of the case. According to BBC, the victim's family called the appeal "ludicrous" (from the BBC feed description; we could not retrieve the full article).

What happened

Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old student at the University of Southampton, was attacked and killed on 3 December 2025. The attacker was Vickrum Digwa.

Digwa was found guilty of murder and given a life sentence with a minimum term of 21 years. The sentence was passed by Judge William Mousley KC at Southampton Crown Court. Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, was convicted of assisting an offender. She was due to be sentenced on 17 July.

Two matters before the Court of Appeal

Alongside Digwa's appeal, Solicitor General Ellie Reeves KC has referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. The court will decide whether the sentence was unduly lenient and whether to increase it.

Ms Reeves said difficult questions need to be answered about how the police handled the case. Her role, however, is to review the sentence for Digwa's crimes.

Review of agencies' actions

The government has also set up an independent review of the case (The Henry Nowak Independent Review). It is to establish what information, reports and concerns about Digwa were held in the five years before Henry's death by police, health services, local authorities, educational bodies, employers and faith organisations. The question is whether opportunities to identify the risk and act on it were missed.

Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones welcomed the referral to the Court of Appeal. She also said the police's handling of the case should remain under review.

What happens next

The available sources do not say when the appeal hearing will take place. Nor is it known on what grounds Digwa is challenging his sentence.