Bristol UWE student who murdered housemate jailed for life
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Student who murdered uni housemate jailed for life
*Image source: *
Family photo
Image caption: Jamie Collins (pictured) was ambushed and killed after returning home from university
Published: 21 October 2026, 12:07 BST
Updated: 1 minute ago
A student has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years for murdering his university housemate after ambushing and stabbing him 30 times.
Zack Coughlan, 23, dressed in black and wore a mask to ambush Jamie Collins, 21, in the garden of their home near Bristol on 8 April.
Coughlan left his victim dying in an alleyway as he cycled away to dispose of bloodstained evidence. He called police eight hours later.
Coughlan had denied murder and a trial was under way at Bristol Crown Court but he changed his plea to guilty on Tuesday.
Both men were final-year students at the University of the West of England.
During sentencing, Judge Justice Linden told Coughlan:
"Collins was an idealist who took an interest in the problems of the world and society. It comes with great shock that anyone chose to do what you chose to do to him."
"I'm sure you were planning to kill Collins and had been for some time."
"Your guilty plea came at a point in the trial when your conviction was inevitable."
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