Jurors were shown CCTV footage capturing the moment a university student was allegedly stabbed 30 times in the garden of his home and left to die.
The footage, described by prosecutors as showing a “carefully planned and cold-blooded execution”, was recorded in Filton, South Gloucestershire, on April 8 this year.
Bristol Crown Court heard that Jamie Collins, 21, was ambushed shortly before 6pm by his housemate, Zack Coughlan, 23, in the garden of the property they shared.
The court was told the two men had previously argued about the amount of rent Coughlan was charging Mr Collins.
Mr Collins, who was from Swansea, was allegedly stabbed repeatedly before Coughlan left him dying in an alleyway. Coughlan is said to have cycled away on his housemate’s bicycle while dressed in black and wearing a mask.
Coughlan, of Cleve Road, Filton, accepts that he killed Mr Collins but denies murder.
The attack took place shortly after Mr Collins returned from the University of the West of England in Bristol, where he was studying robotics alongside Coughlan.
Afterwards, Coughlan abandoned the bicycle at a nearby retail park, bought different clothes and discarded his bloodstained clothing in a pond.
CCTV captured the alleged “carefully planned and cold-blooded execution” in Filton, South Gloucestershire, on April 8 this year
Mr Collins, who was from Swansea, was allegedly stabbed repeatedly before Coughlan left him dying in an alleyway and cycled away on his housemate’s bicycle
Jamie Collins (pictured) was stabbed to death in the garden of the university home he shared with Zack Coughlan, 23, who is on trial accused of his murder
He later returned to the house they shared on Cleve Road at about 9pm. Jurors had previously heard that the property was fitted with three CCTV cameras. Coughlan then went for a walk and bike ride shortly before 12.45am on April 9.
Separate footage shown to the jury recorded Coughlan entering the garden with a torch at 2.06am. Mr Collins could be seen lying on the ground in the gateway.
At 2.07am, Coughlan called police and reported that his friend had been stabbed.
On Tuesday, CCTV and video investigator Helen Bartlett showed jurors footage recorded in the days before and after the attack.
At 5.58pm, Mr Collins was seen arriving at the garden gate with his bicycle moments before the fatal attack.
Coughlan looked down and wiped his eyes as the footage played in court. Several members of Mr Collins’ family left the public gallery after watching the video.
Adam Vaitilingam KC, prosecuting, told jurors on Monday that Coughlan had shown police the CCTV of the fatal attack and was initially treated as a witness.
However, an Avon and Somerset Police investigation uncovered “clear evidence” that Coughlan was the killer, Mr Vaitilingam said. He was subsequently arrested and charged with murder.
Body-worn camera footage shows police arriving at the scene after Coughlan called officers in the early hours
Coughlan had gone into the garden with a torch at 2.06am where MR Collins was left lying on the ground in the gateway
The court heard Coughlan and Mr Collins were both final year robotics students at UWE Bristol and lived in the house, which was owned by the defendant.
There had previously been disagreements about paying rent and whether Coughlan was charging too much but these had been resolved, Mr Vaitilingam added.
He said Coughlan accepts he killed Mr Collins and has admitted manslaughter but will tell the court he had ‘lost control of himself’ and was in fear for his life in the lead-up to the attack.
However, Mr Vaitilingam told jurors the case involved a ‘carefully planned and cold–blooded execution’.
‘Far from being out of control, Zack was very much in control of what he did, and you will see that as we show you his movements in the hours and minutes before he killed Jamie,’ he said on Monday.
‘His actions afterwards, disposing of his clothes, pretending he had been climbing trees so as to explain knife cuts to his hands, coming home and playing online games with his friends, looking at the CCTV app on his phone, trying to deceive the police when he called them at 2am.
‘Those were further acts of someone very much in control.’
Coughlan denies murder. The trial continues.