UWE student jailed for life for murdering his housemate in Filton

A UWE Bristol student has been jailed for life for murdering his housemate.

Zack Coughlan, 23, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court today (Wednesday 21st October) and must serve a minimum of 28 years in prison. He had admitted murdering Jamie Collins, 21, at their home in Filton, South Gloucestershire.

Both were final year students at UWE. Coughlan had denied murder, but changed his plea to guilty on Tuesday 20th October, partway through his trial.

Jamie Collins, via SWNS

On 8th April, Coughlan dressed in black and wore a mask to wait for Jamie to return home from university. He stabbed him 30 times, then cycled away on Jamie’s bike to get rid of bloodstained evidence, leaving him in the alleyway behind the house they shared.

Jamie had just two pieces of coursework left before he was due to return home to his family in Swansea, where his dad had already arranged an engineering job for him.

Sentencing him, Mr Justice Linden said he was sure Coughlan had been planning to kill Jamie for some time. He added that Coughlan only pleaded guilty once his conviction had become inevitable.

via SWNS

During the trial, Coughlan claimed he had been afraid of Jamie and that Jamie had threatened to kill him, so he felt he had no choice but to wait for him and attack him. The judge rejected this, saying he did not accept that Jamie had said or done anything to make Coughlan believe he would be violent. He said other evidence showed Jamie was gentle and avoided conflict, and described him as an idealist who cared about the problems of the world.

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After returning home, Coughlan ate pizza and played video games, claiming he needed to disconnect from what had happened. He did not contact police until eight hours after the attack, and initially tried to blame masked attackers for Jamie’s death.

The whole attack was caught on CCTV, which the jury heard Coughlan later rewatched five times.

via SWNS

In a statement read in court, Jamie’s stepmother, Lisa Jane Collins, said his death had affected the family deeply and permanently. She described police arriving at their home early in the morning and having to wake Jamie’s siblings to tell them their brother had been killed. She said Jamie’s father, Rob, had been unable to work because of the stress.

via SWNS

Detective Chief Inspector Lucy Edgeworth, of Avon and Somerset Police, said the evidence suggested the killing was planned. She said the motive was still unclear: although there had been a dispute over rent and the two held different political views, neither explained why someone would commit such a crime.

You can contact the University of Bristol Student Wellbeing Service or UWE Bristol Wellbeing Service for confidential support and guidance. You can also reach out to Bristol SU Nightline for listening support during the evening and night-time hours.

Alternatively, you can contact the Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123, or contact Shout, a 24/7 text messaging service, by texting the word “Shout” to 85258.

Featured image via SWNS