A scaffolder who stabbed an innocent Saudi student in the neck in a moment of 'senseless violence' fuelled by alcohol and cocaine has been jailed for more than 22 years. Chas Corrigan, 22, approached Mohammed Algasim, 20, as he sat outside a luxury accommodation block in Cambridge chatting and laughing with friends. They exchanged words, and Corrigan, who had been drinking heavily and had taken cocaine, walked away before Mr Algasim made a further comment, the details of which are unclear but included the word 'centre'.
The Attack
Evil Corrigan then strode back to his victim, who stood up before he was stabbed in the neck with a large kitchen knife. Chilling CCTV footage showed Mr Algasim, who was spending his third summer in the historic university city at an English language camp, running away terrified, while his attacker initially calmly walked away before breaking into a sprint.
Corrigan, from Cambridge, had claimed he carried the knife for protection as he had been attacked previously. He denied murder and told his trial he only lashed out as he thought his victim was going to 'hurt me' and had 'no idea' he had made contact. But a jury took just two hours to convict him of the offence in March.
Sentencing
Jailing Corrigan for 22-and-a-half years, Mr Justice Dexter Dias KC rejected the defendant's claims that he had feared for his own safety and pointed out he had two opportunities to walk away before he stabbed his victim. 'Perhaps no one will ever understand why Chas Corrigan did what he did,' he said. 'It was literally senseless violence. It was fuelled by alcohol and cocaine and anger. It was a lethal combination. Mohammed Algasim was an innocent member of the public. He had most of his life ahead of him. He was robbed of that and his family were robbed of him.'
Victim Impact
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Algasim's father, Yousef, said the loss of his 'gentle' son, who had four older sisters, had 'devastated' the family. He added: 'I devoted many years of love, effort and significant resources to Mohammed's upbringing and education with the hope that he would become a successful engineer. I prepared him for life, not for death. Instead of witnessing his achievements, I was confronted with the unbearable reality of receiving his lifeless body - an experience which has caused lasting psychological trauma.' The impact on Mohammed's mother had been 'catastrophic', he continued, saying: 'She lives as though without a soul, holding on only to memories of his laughter, his presence in our house and the sound of his voice.'
Knife Crime Concerns
The unprovoked attack in the city provided a chilling reminder of how knife crime presents a threat throughout the country. Speaking two days after Mr Algasim's needless death, his uncle, Majed Abalkhail, warned that 'many people' in the UK and abroad had expressed growing concerns about a 'rise in violent crime' here. 'We believe the country is no longer a safe destination for students or tourists,' he said, adding his nephew had been a 'calm, kind-hearted young man, loved and respected by everyone who knew him'.
Crime data published by the Office for National Statistics in August 2024 showed knife crime had jumped four per cent to 55,008 incidents recorded by police compared to the previous 12 months. The proportion of repeat knife offenders handed jail terms had also fallen by five per cent, despite a 'two strikes and you're out' law. Patrick Green, the chief executive of knife crime prevention charity The Ben Kinsella Trust, said: 'Knives have become far too easy for young people to access, especially through online marketplaces where weak safeguards and legal loopholes mean dangerous weapons can be bought with little effort. This ease of access is putting lives at risk and contributing to the worrying number of knives we are seeing on our streets.'
Details of the Attack
The CCTV of the attack on the night of August 1 last year was played on the first day of the trial at Cambridge Crown Court in February. It showed Mr Algasim sitting on a low wall outside the student accommodation near the city centre with fellow students and friends. At about 11.30pm, Corrigan appeared in a high-visibility jacket and approached his victim until they were at 'touching distance'. After they spoke, Corrigan walked towards the nearby train station and Mr Algasim said something to the defendant but fellow Saudi student Abdullah Saleh A Bin Shuail, who was nearby, could only make out one word – 'centre'.
Prosecutor Nicholas Hearn told the court: 'The defendant turned and started to come back towards them… his right hand was in his right pocket… He was saying “What did you say? What did you say?” in a very angry and aggressive way.' Mr Algasim stayed where he was and Corrigan shouted 'I know what that means' before he bent down and 'put his face very close to Mr Algasim's face'. Mr Algasim then stood up, with his arms placidly by his sides and a phone in his hand, before the defendant plunged the blade into his neck. The killer shouted 'What you gonna do?' to Mr Bin Shuail before running away.
Mr Algasim also ran down the road before collapsing and died at the scene in the early hours of the following morning, despite friends being given advice from a 999 operator to apply pressure to the wound before paramedics arrived. A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was a 4.5in deep wound to the neck which cut a vital artery.
Defendant's Claims
During the trial, the court heard Corrigan admit he had taken cocaine twice that evening and had drunk about six pints of Guinness, one or two gin and tonics and several drinks containing vodka. He claimed he was 'merry, not drunk' as he approached Mr Algasim and said he thought he had asked the student for a lighter. Describing the brandishing of the knife, he told jurors: 'He just startled me. He was quite aggressive - the way he jumped up.' He added: 'I didn't think I'd hit him. I just thought I'd swung it. He was a step away and I thought I'd swung it between us.'
But, in his opening statement, Mr Hearn said: 'Mr Algasim posed no threat to anybody. The defendant was the aggressor here... This was an unprovoked and senseless act of violence. It was not an accident. It was not self-defence. It was murder.' Corrigan, who threw away his high-vis jacket and the knife as he fled, was arrested the day after the killing. Blood and urine samples confirmed he had been drinking and had used cocaine and cannabis, although toxicologists couldn't say how much he had taken or the effect on him at the time.
Father's Role
His father, Peter, who turned 51 on the day of sentencing, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender after he was spotted on CCTV the day after the attack furtively looking through bushes for the eight-inch knife his son had thrown away. He also retrieved his son's jacket and put it in a communal bin. The painter and decorator, who has 11 convictions for 24 offences and served two years in jail for burglary, told police he didn't know where his son was the day after the murder but was subsequently arrested with him at an address in Cambridge. He had to be restrained by a police dog as he shouted at officers: 'I'm coming for you.' The judge sentenced him to 24 months.
