Student pleads guilty to killing housemate after over‑30 stab wounds

Zack Coughlan, 23, admitted guilt to the murder of his 21‑year‑old housemate Jamie Collins after a brutal stabbing that left more than thirty wounds. On 8 April, Coughlan waited in an alley behind their Filton home and attacked Collins as he returned from university, then left the body for about eight hours before contacting police. The pair were final‑year robotics students at a Bristol university and shared a house owned by Coughlan. After the attack, he rode Collins’s bike to a nearby retail park, discarded it, bought new clothes and threw the blood‑stained garments into a pond, weighting the bags with bricks. DNA on the clothing and on the bike linked Coughlan to the crime. He later ate pizza, played video games and delayed calling emergency services for five more hours. CCTV that Coughlan had installed recorded the entire assault and his later staging of the body’s discovery; jurors heard he watched the footage repeatedly. Detective Chief Inspector Lucy Edgeworth said the evidence points to a carefully organised killing, noting inconsistencies such as Coughlan’s claim of injuring his hands climbing a tree. The motive remains unclear despite reports of a rent dispute and differing political views.

Context

The case highlights how personal disputes can turn deadly and shows the role of modern surveillance and forensic testing in uncovering staged scenes and linking suspects to violent crimes.