Edgeworth pointed out inconsistencies in Coughlan’s story, including claims he had injured his hands climbing a tree after the incident, which she called “slightly odd”.
She said that CCTV evidence showed Coughlan proved he had changed his shoes, “yet in his account he’d given us no indication that he’d changed his trainers, and that’s just one of many things that then began to unravel with his account”.
Judge Justice Linden ruled Coughlan’s partial defence of manslaughter by reason of loss of control could not be left to the jury to consider as part of their deliberations on the murder charge.
He told the jury: “You will have just heard that the defendant has changed his plea to the indictment to guilty.
“That means that he now admits the charge of murder.”
He added: “I would like, on behalf of us all, to thank you for the service that you have given in this case.”