A chilling attack shocked Cambridge last August when a young Saudi student was stabbed to death in a completely random assault outside student housing near the city train station.
Unprovoked Knife Attack Caught on CCTV
Mohammed Algasim, 20, was on a ten-week English placement in Cambridge when he was fatally stabbed in the neck on the night of 1 August. He had never met his attacker before.
Chas Corrigan, 22, from Holbrook Road, Cambridge, was convicted of murder at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday. He admitted owning the knife but denied planning the attack.
High-quality CCTV showed Algasim sitting on a low wall with fellow students when Corrigan approached, said something, then walked off towards the station. Moments later, Corrigan turned back, visibly angry, demanding, “What did you say?” before slashing Algasim with a large kitchen knife.
Prosecutor: “Senseless Act of Violence”
Prosecutor Nicholas Hearn told the court Corrigan had been drinking and possibly using drugs beforehand. He called the stabbing “an unprovoked and senseless act of violence” against a student who “posed no threat to anybody.”
Algasim died from a single stab that severed arteries, causing massive bleeding. The two men had no prior link or argument.
Sentencing Looms Amid Outcry
Corrigan will be sentenced on Wednesday. The case has sparked outrage for the shocking, random nature of the deadly attack on a young international student here for education.
