UWE Bristol student pleads guilty to murdering housemate after rent row

During a murder trial in Bristol Crown Court, 23-year-old Zack Coughlan admitted guilt for the killing of his 21-year-old housemate Jamie Collins. The attack occurred on 8 April when Coughlan, wearing a mask, stabbed Collins more than 30 times in an alley near their home and then abandoned the body for eight hours. He later called police, having spent the intervening time cycling away on Collins’s bike, eating pizza and playing video games.

Coughlan told jurors he feared Collins would kill him after a dispute over rent, but detectives said the evidence points to a pre-planned, cold-blooded execution. CCTV footage showed Coughlan changing shoes after the attack, contradicting his account, and he repeatedly re-watched the footage. Collins’s family described him as gentle and kind, noting he was looking forward to completing his studies at the University of the West of England and returning to Swansea.