Student who stabbed his housemate 30 times admits murder

A student who stabbed his housemate 30 times has pleaded guilty to murder. Zack Coughlan, 23, knifed Jamie Collins, 21, in an alleyway on April 8 and then proceeded to ditch the evidence, eat pizza and play video games for hours before calling the police. Coughlan first denied the charge at Bristol Crown Court. However, he has now admitted murdering the university student. He told the court that he only stabbed Collins because he feared his housemate was planning to kill him. Coughlan, of Cleve Road, Filton, amended his plea to guilty. He will receive his sentence on Wednesday. In a statement, Mr Collins' family said the "sensitive and caring young man had been looking forward to finishing his journey at university". They explained that, as a final-year student, he had been planning to return to his Swansea home "in a matter of weeks". "We know he was heading for a hugely successful future following his engineering and robotics degree," they said. Both were final-year robotics students at the university, living together in a house-share in Filton, a property owned by the killer. Jurors were told the killer was "barely able to think" as he waited for Mr Collins to return from his day at university before stabbing him to death. After knifing the 23-year-old, Coughlan fled the scene on Mr Collins' bike as he raced to ditch any blood-stained evidence. He left the bike at a local retail park, bought new clothes and placed his bloodstained clothes in carrier bags, weighed down with bricks, in a nearby pond. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Once he returned to his house, he said he "had to disconnect" from the incident, and elected to eat pizza and play video games. Five hours on, he finally called the police. However, he lied and said he had encountered copper thieves which ran behind the alleyway where Coughlan had killed his housemate. The killer told police there were two men, which he described as "roadmen", dressed in black and wearing balaclavas, with at least one of them having a knife. However, the entire attack - and later the staged discovery - was caught on camera on CCTV footage the killer had installed himself. Jurors were informed that the man had rewatched the footage five times. Det Ch Insp Lucy Edgeworth, of the major crime investigation team, said "all the evidence suggests" the murder was a "pre-planned, cold-blooded execution". Saying the motive remained unclear, she added: "We know there was a dispute about rent. We know that they held different political views. "But none of those things make any sense to why somebody would carry out such a horrific crime." The expert explained: "The retrieval of the clothing from the pond, again, all forensically linked Zach to that crime. So it was a really interesting and complex forensic picture." Ms Edgeworth added: “Jamie’s family and friends have been put through an ordeal that is impossible to adequately describe. “They have experienced the most appalling tragedy and lost a son and a brother who clearly meant the world to all of them. “They have shown remarkable levels of courage during our investigation and trial, watching footage that no family should ever have to sit through. “Today’s conviction sadly does not undo any of the pain they continue to feel, but hopefully it helps them going forward to know what happened to Jamie.” Follow related topics: