00:00Jamie Collins was 21 and nearing the end of his robotics degree when he was killed at the home he
00:06shared with fellow student Zach Coughlin in Filton, South Gloucestershire.
00:11The two men studied at the University of West England.
00:14Zach Coughlin has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years.
00:20You know, Jamie was days away from finishing his course, days away from moving home.
00:25He said to his parents, you know, the day before how much he was looking forward to finishing his course
00:31and coming back home to Wales.
00:33Coughlin has now admitted murder following a week of evidence at Bristol Crown Court that examined the attack and his
00:39actions afterwards.
00:41The court heard Coughlin, aged 23, dressed in black, wore a mask and gloves and waited for Collins to return
00:48from university on the 8th of April.
00:51Collins suffered around 30 stab wounds.
00:54It's important to point out that he's waited nearly eight hours with Jamie lying dead in his back garden.
01:02I think he probably thought that somebody else would come across him, maybe even the other housemates, tragically, but nobody
01:09did.
01:10And so I think then he thought, right, this is the time now, I'm going to need to phone the
01:13police and put this show on.
01:14And that's exactly what he did.
01:16After the attack, Coughlin left on Collins' bicycle, disposed of clothing and later called emergency services, claiming he'd found his
01:23housemate's body.
01:24Investigators used CCTV and forensic evidence to establish his movements.
01:29Coughlin initially admitted killing Collins, but denied murder, arguing he'd lost control.
01:34The judge ruled that this partial defence could not be left to the jury, prompting Coughlin to change his plea
01:40to guilty.
01:41Prosecutors described the killing as carefully planned.
01:44Collins' family say his death has left a deep and lasting impact.
01:49The motive is always something that, you know, certainly for me, I want to get to the bottom of.
01:54And in this case, it's just not clear.
01:56We know there was a dispute about rent.
01:58We know that they held different political views.
02:01But none of those things make any sense to why somebody would carry out such a horrific crime.
02:07Jamie Collins' family have paid tribute to a caring young man whose future was cut short and thanked the friends
02:14and others who'd supported them through the case.
02:18Family have been incredible and courageous.
02:23They've had to experience every parent's worst nightmare, that knock on the door in the early hours from a police
02:31officer telling you that your child has been murdered.
02:34Absolutely horrendous.
02:35They then had to experience a trial where the graphic detail of how their loved one has been murdered has
02:45come out, including, you know, the detail around the 31 different stab wounds.
02:50Because the CCTV that very clearly captures the murder, this family have been through hell and back and are continuing
02:58to go through hell and back.
