‘Cocaine-snorting’ Brit jailed for life for murdering Saudi student Mohammed Al-Gassim in Cambridge News of the World

A 22-year-old British man has been jailed for life for the murder of Saudi Arabian student Mohammed Al-Ghasim, who was stabbed to death outside a Cambridge student dormitory.Chas Corrigan was sentenced to life imprisonment at Cambridge Crown Court with a minimum term of 22 years and six months. According to the BBC, he was convicted of the murder of a 20-year-old student in August 2025.The court heard Algassem traveled from Saudi Arabia to study English at a language school in Cambridge. Corrigan was sitting with friends near Cambridge train station when he approached the group on the night of the attack.Prosecutors said Corrigan had been drinking and using drugs throughout the night before carrying out the attack. During the trial he admitted drinking several alcoholic drinks and taking cocaine before heading to the station.Corrigan told jurors he carried the kitchen knife for protection because he had been attacked before. He claimed he initially asked the group for a lighter and later returned after hearing shouting. According to his account, Algasim stood up shortly before the stabbing occurred.However, prosecutors argued that the attack was unprovoked. CCTV footage shown during the trial showed Corrigan approaching the group wearing a high-visibility top shortly before Algasim was stabbed in the neck.Corrigan denies murder and claims he brandished the knife to scare people rather than cause harm. Jurors rejected his claims and found him guilty after deliberating for about two hours.During the sentencing hearing, Algassem’s father, Yusef Qasim, described the devastating impact of his son’s death.“Instead of witnessing his achievements, I was faced with the unbearable reality of coming to terms with his lifeless body,” he told the court.The judge also heard a statement from Alqassim’s sister, Shata Qassim, which was read to the court by a family member.Corrigan’s father Peter Corrigan, 50, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to assisting an offender.Cambridgeshire Police said CCTV footage showed him taking off a blood-stained high-visibility jacket worn by his son on August 2, 2025, and placing it in a wheelie bin. Investigators also said he helped his son avoid arrest by allowing him to hide at a property on Holbrook Road.Detective Chief Inspector Dale Mapstead, who led the investigation, said the sentence reflected the seriousness of Corrigan’s actions.“Mohammed was a young man who had his whole life ahead of him and his death has had a profound impact on all who knew him,” he said.After the case, Algassem’s family said Mohammed’s death had left a “deep void” in their lives but that nothing could bring him back.