Zack Coughlan, 23, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 28 years for the murder of his housemate Jamie Collins, 21. Coughlan stabbed Collins 30 times in the garden of their home in Filton, South Gloucestershire, on April 8, after waiting for him dressed in all black, wearing a mask and gloves.
Collins, a student at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), returned home shortly before 6pm. The attack was captured on CCTV from a camera Coughlan had installed. After the killing, Coughlan left Collins to die in an alleyway at the back of the house, cycled away on Collins' bike, and dumped it at a nearby retail park. He then bought a change of clothes and threw his bloodstained clothing in a pond in a bag weighed with stones.
Aftermath and Arrest
Coughlan returned to the £300,000 Cleve Road house, which he owned, had a pizza, and played online games with friends, saying he "had to disconnect" from the killing. He also went for a walk and a bike ride. At 2.06am, CCTV shows him going into the garden with a torch, and a minute later he called 999 to report his friend had been stabbed. Initially treated as a witness, he provided officers with CCTV footage of the attack, which he watched five times, Bristol Crown Court heard.
A murder trial was underway as Coughlan initially denied the charge. However, he pleaded guilty to one count of murder. Mr Justice Linden ruled that Coughlan's partial defence of manslaughter by reason of loss of control could not be left to the jury. Adam Vaitilingam KC, prosecuting, told the jury: "This was a carefully planned and cold-blooded execution."
Motive and Background
Coughlan told jurors he feared Collins was going to kill him after disagreements about rent and politics. The house was bought by Coughlan after his mother, who worked for Apple, lent him £300,000. Collins and another student, Charlie Latimer, paid £650 per month, later reduced to £500, before only contributing towards bills. Latimer described Collins as "stand offish", saying his housemate thought "it was a bit of an insult that we had to pay so much as friends to live in a friend's house".
The relationship worsened despite the rent charge being removed in January. On April 7, Coughlan asked Collins to leave, and told the court Collins "had a kitchen knife in his hand and he told me he wanted to kill me". The following day, Coughlan asked if Collins meant it, and Collins said yes. Coughlan told the jury he saw "no other way to protect" himself but "never wanted to hurt anyone".
Family Statement and Sentence
In a statement released after Collins' death, his family said: "Our Jamie was a bright, kind, gentle and unassuming young man with his whole life ahead of him. He was looking forward to finishing his uni journey and planning to come home to us in Swansea in just a few weeks' time." They added: "Our family has been sickened that Zack Coughlan pretended to help Jamie when in fact he is responsible for killing him."
During sentencing, Collins' family turned to stare at Coughlan as he was led from the dock. Coughlan will be 51 years old before the parole board can consider him for release.
