Housemate charged with murder of Bristol student

A 21-year-old university student from Swansea was fatally stabbed in the garden of a shared house in north Bristol, with his housemate charged with murder, police confirmed this week.

Jamie Collins, who was studying engineering and robotics at the University of the West of England, was found with multiple stab wounds in the rear garden of a property on Cleve Road in Filton in the early hours of April 9. Emergency services responded to the scene, but Collins could not be revived. Both Collins and the suspect, 23-year-old fellow UWE student Zack Coughlan, lived at the address.

Avon and Somerset Police arrested Coughlan on Sunday, April 12, following a review of CCTV footage, forensic evidence, and local searches. The Crown Prosecution Service authorized a murder charge against him the next day. Coughlan appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on April 14, where he was remanded in custody. He is scheduled to appear next at Bristol Crown Court on June 19, with a provisional trial date set for October 12.

Collins, originally from Swansea, was just weeks from completing his degree and returning home. His family described him as a "bright, kind, gentle and unassuming young man with his...