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Court names 16-year-old killer sentenced to life for stabbing teacher (4 November 2014)

Date: 04/11/2014
Duncan Lewis, Crime Solicitors, Court names 16-year-old killer sentenced to life for stabbing teacher

Leeds Crown Court has named the teenager who stabbed teacher Ann Maguire to death in 2013 as 16-year-old Will Cornick.

On Monday (03/11/14), Cornick was sentenced to life imprisonment and the court stipulated he must serve at least 20 years. The court took the decision to lift a previous court order and name him after conviction, despite the fact he is still a minor.

Cornick killed his 61-year-old Spanish teacher at Corpus Christ Catholic College in West Yorkshire when he was just 15. The court heard he had been diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 12, ending his ambition to join the Army.

Cornick was known to have posted violent threats about the teacher online – including posting messages on social media last Christmas. It is reported he had developed irrational feelings of hatred towards Mrs Maguire – and also made threats about two other teachers at the school.

However, no action was taken, despite Cornick’s Facebook page featuring an image of the Grim Reaper with a scythe.

The court in Leeds heard that the teenager had pursued Mrs Maguire down a corridor after she fled a classroom. He stabbed her repeatedly in the neck and returned to the classroom, saying the words “Good times” to fellow pupils as he returned.

He told psychiatrists that he felt what he had done had been “fine and dandy” and was proud of his actions, saying that he either had to kill Mrs McGuire or commit suicide.

The judge at Leeds Crown Court said that Cornick appeared to revel in the public attention his crime had caused.

The teenager was described as a bright and well-behaved pupil who came from a “decent” and loving family. Cornick’s parents had divorced when he was young, but had made sure they maintained a loving relationship with him.

However, Cornick had also told interviewers after the murder that he knew Mrs Maguire’s own family and husband and children would be upset by what he had done, but added that he did not care.

Other pupils described him as “quiet” and “a bit weird” who liked to play computer games. He had confessed to another pupil that he always carried a knife – and had discussed Mrs Maguire being killed “in unpleasant circumstances”. Another pupil said Cornick would always sit by himself in class and “stare ahead”. Police also found images of knives on his mobile phone.

The court also heard that two months before she was killed, Mrs Maguire had banned Cornick from going on a school trip because he had failed to complete his homework, but he had gone on the trip anyway. On another occasion, Cornick had walked out and his parents had been summoned to the school. Cornick’s father said his son made it clear that he hated Mrs Maguire.

Cornick pleaded guilty to stabbing the teacher, who had been due to retire at the time of her death.

Police have issued a statement saying no one could have reasonably foreseen the tragedy.

After the hearing, Chief Superintendent Paul Money of West Yorkshire Police said that Cornick’s motive for killing Mrs Maguire “seems inexplicable”.

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