Chas Corrigan (the killer) and Mohammed Al-Qasim (the victim)
The construction worker who fatally stabbed a young Saudi student in an unprovoked attack in Cambridge, England, has been jailed for more than 22 years, the Daily Mail reported.22-year-old Chas Corrigan was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 22-and-a-half years after being found guilty of murdering 20-year-old Mohammed Al-Qasim during a violent confrontation near the city center on August 1 last year.Al-Qassim was attending an English language program in Cambridge and spending his third summer in the city. He died after being stabbed in the neck with a large kitchen knife.Passing sentence, Judge Dexter Dias KC described the attack as an act of “senseless violence” fueled by alcohol, cocaine and anger.“No one will probably ever understand why Chas Corrigan did what he did,” the judge said.He added: “It was literally senseless violence. It was fueled by alcohol, cocaine and anger.
It was a deadly combination. Muhammad Al-Qasim was an innocent citizen. He had most of his life ahead of him. “That was taken from him and his family was taken from him.”Corrigan approached Al-Qassim while sitting outside student accommodation with his friends. The pair exchanged words and Corrigan initially walked away. However, after hearing another comment that included the word “center,” he turned back and faced the student.
Corrigan became aggressive, repeatedly asking, “What did you say? What did you say?”As Alqassim stood holding a mobile phone, Corrigan stabbed him in the neck before fleeing the scene.CCTV footage played during the trial captured the moments following the attack, with the injured student running away in panic as Corrigan ran out before eventually taking off in a sprint.Friends tried to save Al-Qassim by following the 999 operator’s instructions and applying pressure to the wound.
But he collapsed and died the next morning.A post-mortem examination showed that he had suffered a 4.5-inch deep wound that had severed a major artery in his neck.Corrigan denied murder and claimed he acted in self-defence. He told jurors he believed Alqassim was about to “hurt me” and insisted he did not realize he had struck him with the knife.He said during the trial: “I didn’t think I hit him. I just thought I swung him. He was a step away and I thought I swung him between us.”He also claimed that he carried the knife for protection because he had been attacked before.However, prosecutors said Al-Qassim posed no threat.Prosecutor Nicholas Hearn told the court: “Mr Al Qasim did not pose a threat to anyone. The defendant is the aggressor here.”Jurors took just two hours to convict Corrigan in March.Corrigan had consumed large amounts of alcohol and taken cocaine before the attack.
He admitted drinking several alcoholic beverages and using cocaine twice that evening.Muhammad’s father, Yousef Al-Qasim, described his son’s huge loss.“I prepared him for life, not death,” he said.“Instead of witnessing his accomplishments, I was faced with the unbearable reality of receiving his lifeless body.”He added that Mohammed’s mother was devastated by the tragedy.“She lives as if she has no soul, clinging only to the memories of his laugh, his presence in our house, and the sound of his voice.”After the murder, Corrigan disposed of the knife and his apparent jacket as he fled. His father, Peter Corrigan, later admitted assisting one of the perpetrators after he helped recover and dispose of evidence linked to the crime.The 51-year-old was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
