Student denies stabbing housemate to death

A university student accused of stabbing his housemate to death has pleaded not guilty to his murder.

Zack Coughlan, 23, is accused of killing 21-year-old Jamie Collins at their shared address on Cleve Road in Filton, Bristol, in the early hours of 9 April.

Emergency services found the victim with multiple stab wounds in the rear garden of the home. Both men were students at the University of the West of England (UWE).

Coughlan denied the charge during a hearing at Bristol Crown Court earlier, where a provisional trial date was set for 12 October.

Coughlan was remanded into custody ahead of his next court appearance on 25 September.

Avon and Somerset Police said the victim, who was originally from Swansea, had likely died several hours before he was found.

In a statement at the time, UWE said the engineering and robotics student was an active member of student societies, adding it was "deeply shocked" by the news.

Collins' family previously paid tribute to him in a statement that described him as a "bright, kind, gentle and unassuming young man with his whole life ahead of him".

"He was looking forward to finishing his university journey and planning to come home to us in Swansea in just a few weeks' time," they said.

"We know he was heading for a hugely successful future."

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