Full Breakdown
Bristol Student’s Fatal Stabbing: Trial of Zack Coughlan
By Drooid · · How we work
The Attack and Immediate Aftermath
On April 8 23-year-old student Zack Coughlan waited in an alley outside the shared house on Cleve Road, Filton. When his housemate, 21-year-old robotics student Jamie Collins, returned shortly before 6 p.m., Coughlan ambushed him in the garden and stabbed him 30 times. Collins died in the alley; Coughlan cycled away on Collins’s bike, later dumping the bike at a nearby retail park, changing clothes and discarding the blood-stained garments in a pond. He returned around 9 p.m., put a pizza in the oven and played online games before calling emergency services at about 2 a.m. on April 9, 2026. Police found Collins dead; Coughlan was first treated as a witness but later became a suspect.
Background and Dispute Over Rent
Friends said the two final-year robotics students had argued over rent. Coughlan owned the house and, from January, limited Collins and housemate Charlie Latimer to paying only household bills. Collins was reportedly unhappy with the living conditions and described Coughlan as “quite controlling.” The dispute was said to have been resolved before the fatal incident.
Evidence Presented at Trial
The prosecution relied on motion-activated and CCTV footage of the stabbing, forensic analysis that found Coughlan’s blood on Collins’s bike, and mobile-phone data matching Coughlan’s movements after the attack. A 999 call recorded Coughlan crying, stating “My friend’s been stabbed,” and describing attempts at CPR before police instructed him to stay on the line.
Official Statements & Responses
Adam Vaitilingam KC, prosecuting counsel, called the killing a “carefully planned and cold-blooded execution,” arguing that a person who “lost control” would not have pre-arranged the attack, changed clothes and concealed evidence. Coughlan has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but continues to deny murder, maintaining that he “lost self-control” because he feared for his life at the moment of the stabbing. The court heard that Coughlan told a mutual friend, Fraser Stone, on April 9 that something bad had happened to Collins and later discussed arranging a memorial.
Verbatim Quotes
- “A few hours later he decided it was time to call the police and pretend that he had just found his friend's body in the garden.” — Prosecutors
- “He told me that something bad had happened to Jamie,” — Mr Stone
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Motive claim: Coughlan cites loss of self-control; the prosecution alleges pre-meditation.
- Phone-search timing: The prosecution notes disturbing search terms on Coughlan’s phone but does not specify when they were entered.
What’s Next
The trial continues at Bristol Crown Court. No sentencing date has been set, and the jury has yet to deliver a verdict on the manslaughter plea and the murder charge.