A 22-year-old has been found guilty of killing a man outside student accommodation near Cambridge railway station
A 22-year-old man has been convicted of the murder of a Saudi Arabian student who was stabbed in the neck whilst studying English on a 10-week placement in Cambridge last year. The trial at Cambridge Crown Court heard that Mohammed Algasim, 20, was assaulted outside student accommodation near the city’s train station late on August 1, 2025.
Prosecutors said he was fatally stabbed by Chas Corrigan, who was a stranger to him, in an “unprovoked and senseless act of violence”.
Corrigan, of Holbrook Road, Cambridge, denied murdering Mr Algasim. However, he was found guilty by a jury after two hours and nine minutes of deliberation, a court officer said.
Corrigan, who confessed to carrying a knife, is scheduled to be sentenced at the same court on Wednesday (March 4), the court officer added.
Prosecutor Nicholas Hearn told jurors that Corrigan had been drinking in a pub and may have consumed drugs prior to stabbing Mr Algasim with a kitchen knife. He mentioned that the stabbing was “captured by a high-quality CCTV camera positioned outside the student accommodation”, and footage of this was shown to the jury.
It showed Mr Algasim sitting on a low wall surrounded by a group of people when Corrigan – wearing a hi-vis jacket – approached the group.
Mr Hearn stated that Abdullah Bin Shuail, a fellow student of Mr Algasim, “heard the defendant say something to Mr Algasim but he could not hear what was said and he could not hear whether Mr Algasim said anything in reply”.
He said Corrigan walked away from the group and towards the train station. Mr Hearn said that as the defendant walked away, Mr Bin Shuail heard Mr Algasim say something to the defendant but “could only make out one word”, which was “centre”.
“When Mr Algasim said this, the defendant turned and started to come back towards them,” Mr Hearn said. The prosecutor said the defendant said ‘What did you say, what did you say?’ and that this was “in a very angry and aggressive way”.
He said Mr Bin Shuail “saw the defendant punch Mr Algasim hard to the left side of his neck” and “then saw that the defendant was holding a large knife in his right hand”. Mr Algasim died from a single stab wound, which severed the carotid artery and jugular vein, “causing massive bleeding”, Mr Hearn said.
Mr Hearn added that Mr Algasim “posed no threat to anybody”. He said Mr Algasim “was a student who had come to Cambridge from Saudi Arabia”.
Corrigan maintained that he had the knife with him to frighten off any attacker and insisted he did not realise he had made contact with Mr Algasim. He has been remanded in custody until his sentencing.