Student Jailed for Life for Murdering Housemate
Zack Coughlan sentenced to a minimum of 28 years after admitting to stabbing Jamie Collins 30 times.
A student has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 28 years for murdering his university housemate. Zack Coughlan, 23, pleaded guilty to the murder of Jamie Collins, 21, who he stabbed 30 times in the garden of their shared home near Bristol on April 8.
Coughlan, who was dressed in black and wore a mask during the attack, left Collins to die in an alleyway before cycling away to dispose of evidence. He contacted the police eight hours after the murder.
The trial was underway at Bristol Crown Court when Coughlan changed his plea to guilty on Tuesday. Both men were final-year students at the University of the West of England.
During the sentencing, Judge Justice Linden stated that Collins was an idealist with an interest in societal problems, expressing shock at the nature of the crime. The judge concluded that Coughlan had been planning the murder for some time, and his guilty plea came when a conviction was inevitable.