UK court jails man for life over murder of Saudi student in Cambridge
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A court in the United Kingdom has sentenced Chaz Corrigan to life imprisonment for the murder of Saudi student Mohammed Al-Qassim in Cambridge last year.
Cambridge Crown Court ordered Corrigan to serve a minimum of 22 years and six months before becoming eligible for parole, citing the seriousness of the crime, his criminal record and his use of drugs and alcohol before the attack.
Al-Qassim, 20, from Makkah, was fatally stabbed outside student accommodation in Cambridge on August 1, 2025, while attending a 10-week language program in the city.
Prosecutors said Corrigan, a construction worker from Cambridge, attacked the student with a kitchen knife following an evening of drinking and drug use.
The court also sentenced Corrigan’s father, Peter Corrigan, 50, to two years in prison after he admitted helping an offender. Prosecutors said he concealed clothing worn during the attack and assisted his son in avoiding arrest.
Police said CCTV footage showed Peter Corrigan removing a blood-stained high-visibility jacket from bushes and disposing of it in a bin the day after the killing.
The sentencing followed months of investigations and court proceedings that attracted attention in both Saudi Arabia and the UK.
A jury convicted Corrigan of murder in March after rejecting his claim that he acted in self-defence.
Evidence presented during the trial showed Al-Qassim had been sitting with friends near Cambridge railway station when Corrigan approached the group.
Corrigan admitted carrying a kitchen knife and told the court he had consumed alcohol and cocaine before the incident. He claimed he intended to frighten, not harm, the victim.
Prosecutors presented CCTV footage of the stabbing and Corrigan fleeing the scene. Medical evidence showed Al-Qassim died instantly after suffering a single neck wound measuring 11.5 centimetres deep.
During the final hearing, the court also heard statements from Al-Qassim’s father, Yousef Al-Qassim and his sister, Shatha Al-Qassim. The judge upheld the murder conviction and imposed the life sentence.