Chas Corrigan, a 22-year-old construction worker, has been found guilty of the murder of Mohammed Algasim, a Saudi Arabian student.

Algasim was fatally stabbed in Cambridge last year by a stranger who had been drinking and taking drugs.

During the trial held at Cambridge Crown Court, a prosecution lawyer told the court that the 20-year-old student was stabbed with a kitchen knife on the evening of 1 August 2025. He was outside student accommodation near Cambridge Train Station with friends at the time.

Algasim was a student on a 10-week placement at the English language school EF International Language Campuses Cambridge, a private school that offers English courses to overseas students.

The stabbing was captured by CCTV footage, which was shown to the jurors at the start of the trial.

Barrister Nicholas Hearn said that the footage showed Chas Corrigan stabbing Algasim. Corrigan, who denies the murder, was found guilty by a jury last Monday (02/03) after about two hours of deliberation. He will be sentenced at a later date.

The footage shows Corrigan walking towards the group of Algasim and his friends, after he said he had been drinking in the Earl of Derby pub.

Corrigan told jurors that he had drunk approximately six pints of Guinness, several vodka-based drinks, and one or two gin and tonics.

He also admitted to taking cocaine twice, telling jurors he was “not drunk,” but “merry”.

Ruby Shrimpton, a prosecution barrister, said that tests on Corrigan’s blood and urine indicated that he had consumed alcohol, and used cocaine and cannabis, adding that toxicologists could not determine the amount he had consumed and taken, or the effects of these when he encountered Algasim.

Corrigan said that he believed he approached the group to ask for a lighter, though he could not remember.

He continued: “I said, ‘all right, no worries, see you later brother’.”

The footage then shows him walking away from the group.

Corrigan claimed that he returned to the group after hearing “shouting,” believing that he had been “asked something”.

Hearn said that Algasim’s fellow student, Abdullah Saleh A Bin Shuail, heard Corrigan ask, “what did you say, what did you say?” in a “very angry and aggressive” way.

Hearn claimed that 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”.

Corrigan admitted to possession of a knife, but the defence barrister, Jane Osborne KC, said he produced the knife because “he thought he was imminently going to be attacked,” but had “no intention of using it to cause Mr Algasim any harm”.

Corrigan said: “I thought he was going to hurt me. I stepped back. I pulled out the knife to intimidate him and scare him away from me.”

CCTV footage shows Algasim collapsing shortly after running away.

Hearn said Algasim died of “massive bleeding” from a single stab wound cutting across the carotid artery and the jugular vein.

He died within an hour of being stabbed, Shrimpton told jurors.

A high-vis hooded sweatshirt and the kitchen knife used in the murder were found by police in a bin near Vinter Terrace, according to prosecutors.

Corrigan’s father, Peter, will be sentenced alongside his son on 30/03, after admitting to assisting an offender.

In a statement shortly after the murder took place, EF International Language Campuses Cambridge said that they were “deeply saddened” to confirm Algasim’s fatal injury, adding: “The safety and wellbeing of our students is our top priority.”

The language school continued: “We are providing support to all students and staff affected by this tragic event and have organised counselling sessions.”