Pain 'beyond' words says murdered student's father

The father of a Saudi Arabian student murdered while studying English in Cambridge has told a judge that his pain is "beyond" words.

Mohammed Algasim, 20, was stabbed in the neck outside student accommodation by 22-year-old construction worker Chas Corrigan, of Holbrook Road, Cambridge, in August 2025.

Algasim's father, Yousef Al Qasim, described the impact of the killing in a statement read out at a sentencing hearing in Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday.

Al Qasim told Mr Justice Dias: "Instead of witnessing his achievements, I was confronted with the unbearable reality of receiving his lifeless body."

Corrigan was found guilty of murder after a trial at Cambridge Crown Court earlier this year.

He is due to be sentenced on Thursday, along with his father, Peter Corrigan, 50, of Vinter Terrace, Cambridge, who has admitted assisting an offender.

The judge also heard statements from Algasim's sister, Shatha Al Qasim on Wednesday.

Both statements were read out at the hearing by a family member.

Jurors had heard how Algasim had been studying at a language school and was sitting with friends near Cambridge rail station shortly before 23:30 BST on 1 August.

Prosecutors said Corrigan attacked with a kitchen knife after "an evening of drinking and using drugs".

The attack was caught on CCTV.

Jurors saw footage showing Corrigan, who was wearing a high-vis top, approach Algasim's group.

"I prepared him for life, not for death," Al Qasim said of his son

"The pain of sending a son abroad to study, full of hope for his future, only for him to return as a victim of senseless violence, despite having caused no problem to anyone, is beyond what words can express."

Algasim's sister added: "Even now, I cannot comprehend the brutality of what happened.

"How can someone inflict such harm on another human being in public and without hesitation?

"The scale of this violence is beyond understanding."

Corrigan, who denied murder but admitted possessing a bladed article, had told jurors that he waved the knife to scare and not injure.

He said he had been walking towards the station after drinking in the Earl of Derby pub.

Corrigan said he had drunk about six pints of Guinness, one or two gin and tonics, and several drinks containing vodka.

He said he had also taken cocaine.

Corrigan, who was 21 at the time, said he was carrying a kitchen knife for protection because he had been attacked in the past.

He said he did not know anyone in the group but thought he had approached to ask for a lighter.

"I cannot remember what was said," he told jurors. "I said 'all right, no worries, see you later brother'."

He said he turned around and walked back to the group because he heard "shouting" and thought he was being "asked something".

Corrigan said Algasim then got to his feet before the stabbing occurred.

"He just startled me," Corrigan told the trial.

"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 then showed Algasim running before collapsing.

"I thought I had just scared him off," said Corrigan. "I ran in the other direction."

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