A man convicted of stabbing 18-year-old Henry Novak to death in Southampton has been jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years.Vikram Digva, 23, received the sentence after a jury found him guilty of the December 2025 murder. Digwa, who had a 21 cm blade as part of his Sikh religion, denied murder and claimed he acted in self-defence, but jurors rejected his claim.Henry was a British-Polish teenager from Chafford Hundred, Essex. He was studying accountancy and finance at the University of Southampton and had recently completed his first term when he was murdered.The attack happened on Belmont Road in the Portswood area of ​​Southampton shortly before 11.30pm on December 3, 2025.Prosecutors said the encounter between the two men escalated when they ran into each other on the sidewalk while Henry was returning to his residence after a night out.During the trial, DeGwa claimed the teen seemed intoxicated, became aggressive and used racial slurs. He also alleged that Henry punched him and took off his turban before reaching for the blade during the confrontation.Jurors rejected the self-defense argument and convicted Digva of murder and possession of a knife in public.The court heard Henry suffered multiple stab wounds and tried to escape by climbing over a fence before collapsing.Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, was also found guilty of assisting an offender after prosecutors said she removed the weapon from the scene.