A man has denied murdering a student from Swansea at their shared accommodation near Bristol. Zack Coughlan, 23, appeared before Bristol Crown Court on Friday morning charged with murdering Jamie Collins, 21, from Swansea, on April 8.
Emergency services were called to a garden at the rear of the property where the pair lived in a house share in Cleve Road, Filton, south Gloucestershire, in the early hours of April 9. Mr Collins, who studied robotics at the University of the West of England and had previously worked at a pub in the Gower, was found with significant injuries and pronounced dead at the scene.
On Friday Coughlan was asked to enter a plea to the charge that he murdered Mr Collins and he replied "not guilty". Judge Julian Lambert told the court: "A trial date has previously been identified for this, which is October 12." The court heard the trial is expected to last between two to three weeks. Adam Vaitilingam KC appeared for the prosecution, while Edd Hetherington represented Coughlan. Coughlan was remanded into custody ahead of his next appearance at court on September 25.
The family of Mr Collins previously paid tribute to him in a statement released through Avon and Somerset Police. "Our Jamie was a bright, kind, gentle and unassuming young man with his whole life ahead of him," they said. "He was looking forward to finishing his uni journey and planning to come home to us in Swansea in just a few weeks' time. We know he was heading for a hugely successful future following his engineering and robotics degree."
The University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) also described being "deeply shocked" by his death. "As well as studying robotics, Jamie was also an active member of student societies at UWE Bristol," a spokesperson said. "The university will support students who studied with Jamie and staff directly affected by his death."
