Zack Coughlan pleads guilty to murdering housemate

Zack Coughlan pleaded guilty to murdering his housemate Jamie Collins on Tuesday after a judge ruled that a partial defence of manslaughter could not be considered by the jury. The 23-year-old’s sentencing was scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, at Bristol Crown Court; the supplied court reports do not give the outcome of that hearing. Coughlan had initially denied murder while admitting he killed Collins, 21. During the trial, he told jurors he had feared Collins would kill him. Judge Justice Linden ruled that Coughlan’s loss-of-control defence could not be left to the jury, after which Coughlan changed his plea to guilty. The court heard that Coughlan attacked Collins on April 8, 2026, in an alleyway near the garden of their home in Filton, South Gloucestershire. The attack was captured by CCTV installed at the house. Prosecutors said Collins had been stabbed repeatedly; the accounts report that he was stabbed 30 times. Court evidence described Coughlan leaving the scene on Collins’s bike and disposing of the bike and clothing. Forensic evidence presented at trial included Coughlan’s blood on the recovered bike and clothing retrieved from a pond. The court also heard that...