Just before Henry Nowak was stabbed on December 3, 2025, he was walking home from a night out with university friends in Southampton's Bevois Valley area. He had recently left the Hobbit pub when he encountered Vickrum Digwa on Belmont Road. A verbal altercation erupted between the two men, during which Nowak used his mobile phone to film Digwa as he walked away from the confrontation. Video footage shown at trial captured Nowak saying "Are you a b...." before the recording ended [1]. Digwa later claimed in court that Nowak had pursued him, made racist remarks, and punched him, allegedly knocking off his turban. However, prosecutors argued these allegations were entirely fabricated to justify the attack, and the presiding judge rejected Digwa's claims of physical or racial abuse.

According to one account, moments before the fatal attack, Digwa told Nowak "I am a bad man" [2]. The exact sequence of events in those final seconds remains contested among sources, but all accounts agree that the verbal confrontation and phone recording immediately preceded the stabbing. Digwa then used a knife to stab Nowak multiple times, inflicting wounds including a fatal blow to the chest. After the attack, Digwa called police and falsely claimed he had been the victim of an assault. When officers arrived at the scene, they initially believed Digwa's account and placed the dying Nowak in handcuffs while he pleaded for medical help, before the truth emerged during investigation.