Teacher Ann Maguire was stabbed to death by 16-year-old pupil Will Cornick in Leeds in April. As he pleaded guilty to her murder, details emerged of a 'highly dangerous' individual with psychopathic tendencies, but parents and pupils said they still could not comprehend that the teenager they knew as a 'quiet, typical lad' carried out the brutal attack.
Mrs Maguire, 61, had taught at Corpus Christi Catholic College for 40 years and retirement was just a few months away. Many regarded her as the 'mother' of the Halton Moor school. On 28 April, Cornick, then 15, walked into her lesson and knifed her seven times as the class looked on in terror. She died from a stab wound to the neck, which severed her jugular vein.
Former student Tom Smith knew Cornick and described him as 'probably the most intelligent person I knew', but also 'really quiet and kept himself to himself'. Prosecutor Paul Greaney QC told Leeds Crown Court that Cornick's parents were 'at a loss to understand' what their son had done, and that there was no indication of a risk of 'homicidal violence'.
The court heard that behind his quiet, intelligent persona, Cornick harboured a hatred for Mrs Maguire and took pride in her killing. He told a psychiatrist: 'I wasn't in shock, I was happy. I had a sense of pride. I still do.' Julie Langton, whose two daughters attend the school, said it was known Cornick had grudges against Mrs Maguire for pushing him to concentrate harder on his studies.
Cornick, now 16, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years. His defence barrister, Richard Wright, said: 'Plainly, these were the actions of a deeply disturbed young man.' A fellow pupil said he could not comprehend how the boy he knew had committed such a terrible crime.
