A 23-year-old university student, Zack Coughlan, has pleaded guilty to murdering his housemate, Jamie Collins, 21, whom he stabbed more than 30 times in a masked ambush in the United Kingdom.
Coughlan attacked Collins in an alleyway near their home in Filton on April 8 before leaving him to die. He subsequently left the scene and did not contact the police until several hours later.
The defendant had initially denied the murder charge, although he admitted killing Collins.
His trial at Bristol Crown Court was already underway when he changed his plea to guilty on Tuesday following a ruling by the trial judge.
Coughlan had previously told jurors that he feared Collins would kill him.
He claimed he was “barely able to think” when he waited for his housemate to return from university before launching the fatal attack.
Both men were final-year robotics students at the University of the West of England and shared a house owned by Coughlan.
After the stabbing, Coughlan rode away on Collins’ bicycle to dispose of evidence.
He abandoned the bicycle at a nearby retail park, purchased different clothes and dumped his bloodstained clothing in a pond, placing bricks in carrier bags to weigh them down.
He later returned home, ate pizza and played video games.
He reportedly said he “had to disconnect” from what had happened and waited another five hours before calling emergency services.
Closed-circuit television footage captured the attack.
The cameras, which Coughlan had installed himself, also recorded him staging the discovery of Collins’ body.
Jurors were previously told that he rewatched the footage five times.
Detective Chief Inspector Lucy Edgeworth, who led the major crime investigation, said the evidence indicated that the killing had been planned.
She said “all the evidence suggests” the killing was a “pre-planned, cold-blooded execution”.
According to Edgeworth, Coughlan had claimed that Collins’ political views had become more extreme and that his housemate had spoken about killing him.
However, she said investigators had not established a clear motive.
“We know there was a dispute about rent. We know that they held different political views. But none of those things make any sense to why somebody would carry out such a horrific crime,” she said.
Investigators recovered bloodstained clothes from the pond, with forensic evidence linking Coughlan to the crime.
His blood was also found on Collins’ recovered bicycle.
Edgeworth said Coughlan had offered inconsistent explanations for his actions, including claiming that he injured his hands while climbing a tree after the incident. She described the explanation as “slightly odd”.
She added that the defendant’s blood was found on the bicycle because he had likely injured himself during the “ferocious and horrendous” attack.
In a statement outside the court, Edgeworth described the murder as “meticulously planned”, adding that Coughlan had prioritised protecting himself instead of seeking medical assistance for his victim.
“The brutal nature of what he did cannot be underestimated,” she said.
“Rather than calling for medical help he did everything to protect himself.
“He feigned shock and the lies continued, both to police and friends in the hours and days after what happened.”
Collins’ family said his death had caused them “deep, profound and lasting” pain.
In a statement, they said they had repeatedly been forced to explain the circumstances surrounding his death, reopening their grief each time.
“Our family has been sickened that Zack Coughlan pretended to help Jamie when in fact he is responsible for killing him,” they said.
The family described Collins as “a sensitive and caring young man” who had been looking forward to completing his studies and returning to his hometown of Swansea within weeks.
They said his commitment to equality and inclusion would remain part of his legacy.
“His passion for equality stood out to everyone who knew him. His unapologetic inclusivity will be his legacy for all of us. We know he was heading for a hugely successful future following his engineering and robotics degree,” they added.
Collins was posthumously awarded a second-class upper degree in July after accumulating sufficient academic points before his death.
His family accepted the qualification on his behalf.
The university’s vice-chancellor, Steve West, described Collins as a valued member of its robotics community who was passionate about engineering and robotics.
“He was a natural engineer, keen in robotics, a hard worker and only weeks away from completing his degree,” West said.
He added that the details revealed during the trial had been distressing, particularly for Collins’ university friends who testified in court.
West said the attendance of numerous friends and university staff at Collins’ memorial and the trial demonstrated how much he was loved and respected.
Coughlan is scheduled to be sentenced for murder on Wednesday.
