UK School killing

[Gob]

A high-achieving middle-class schoolboy was in custody after a teacher was stabbed to death in the first murder of its kind in a British classroom.


The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of murder after Anne Maguire, 61, was repeatedly stabbed in front of other pupils at a secondary school in Leeds.

The pupil is said to have excelled at the Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds but had become increasingly withdrawn following the separation of his parents.

Mrs Maguire, who taught Spanish and Religious Education and was described as the "figurehead" of the school where she had taught for 40 years, was the first teacher to be killed by a schoolboy since Philip Lawrence, a London headmaster, was stabbed at the gates of his secondary in 1995.

It is the first time in Britain a teacher has been murdered in a classroom allegedly by one of their pupils.

Mrs Maguire, a mother of two, was stabbed several times around 11.45am. Witnesses said she had been stabbed in the neck and in the back with a kitchen knife. She was taken to hospital but doctors were unable to save her life.

The suspect was restrained by other teachers until police arrived shortly before midday.

Mrs Maguire had been married for 37 years to Don Maguire, a 62-year-old landscape gardener, and was mother to two highly successful daughters, Kerry, 32, an osteopath, and Emma, 30, who trained at the Royal Ballet School and has been a Royal Ballet soloist since 2011.

Her death, described as "an appalling tragedy" by Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, reopened the debate over security in schools. Last year 250 children were caught on school premises with weapons.

Mrs Maguire is understood to have been teaching a Spanish class of around 30 pupils when she was attacked.

Jacob Hill, 16, a student at the school, said: "I was told she was stabbed in the back." Jacob, who was in another lesson when he heard screams, said of the accused boy: "He is really clever and always got top grades."

The boy in custody comes from a middle-class family in the Halton area of Leeds.

Neighbours said that after his parents split some time ago, the boy would rarely speak to anyone outside his immediate family.

He was predicted to get good grades in his GCSEs and excelled particularly in art.

One neighbour said: "He was very quiet and a bit of a dweeb, but never caused any trouble. This is the last thing you would ever have expected from him."

Police were last night piecing together the boy's background, including a Facebook page with a prominent image of the grim reaper.

David Cameron was among those who paid tribute to Mrs Maguire, saying: "My thoughts are with the family of Anne Maguire, as well as the staff and pupils of Corpus Christi school, where she was stabbed to death."

Mrs Maguire, who could have retired last year and was expected to retire this summer, was regarded as a mother figure at Corpus Christi, which she joined in 1974 and where she had been head of Year 11 for more than a decade.

Kerrianne Ayward, 17, said: "She was just lovely. She was helpful and caring and you could have a laugh with her. She was always there for you, even if she didn't know you very well. No one had a bad word for her - I mean no one. She was the heart of the school."

Georgina Kilroy, 16, said her teacher broke down when she told the pupils the news that Mrs Maguire had died. She said that before then they were told a teacher had gone to hospital but lessons continued.

Many pupils burst into tears when they were told that Mrs Maguire had died in hospital. Last night many of them staged a candlelit vigil for the teacher in the Corpus Christi church next to the school.

The Telegraph, London



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/british-tea ... z30EzjGPnP

[Miles]

I hope this is not a prelude of things to come.

[Gob]

You and me both mate.

[Miles]

This world is apparently finding a way to self destruct from the bottom up. I used to wish I were younger, lately I am not certain I would not change that to older so I would not have to see the final destruction of the way of life that I enjoyed.

[Gob]

Some sanity.

A 16-year-old boy has been given a life sentence after he admitted murdering Leeds teacher Ann Maguire.

Will Cornick stabbed Mrs Maguire, 61, seven times in the back and neck at Corpus Christi Catholic College, then sat down and said "good times".

Leeds Crown Court heard he had told other pupils he hated Mrs Maguire.

The judge said he had shown a "chilling lack of remorse" and ordered him to serve at least 20 years, saying he might never be released.

Mrs Maguire's family said they were "looking to the future with a fragile hope".

Cornick, who was 15 when he killed Mrs Maguire in April, had not been named because of his age but judge Mr Justice Coulson lifted an order banning his identification.

Earlier the teenager stood in the dock flanked by two prison officers as the clerk read out the charge.

He looked straight ahead and showed no emotion as he admitted murdering Mrs Maguire. The Spanish teacher suffered seven stab wounds to her back and neck.

Mr Justice Coulson said it was "quite possible" Cornick would never be released.

Prosecutor Paul Greaney QC told the court the boy had "psychopathic tendencies" and had derived pleasure from the public nature of the killing, something the judge referred to as "truly grotesque".

He told the court pupils had noticed disturbing aspects to Cornick's personality.

Cornick told other children he hated Mrs Maguire and wanted her dead, writing on Facebook that she "deserves more than death, more than pain and more than anything that we can understand".

The prosecutor said: "Late on the night of Christmas Eve 2013, and into the early hours of Christmas Day, the defendant exchanged messages with a friend on Facebook.

"In those messages he spoke of 'brutally killing' Mrs Maguire and spending the rest of his life in jail so as not to have to worry about life or money."

The court heard Mrs Maguire had been leaning over her desk helping a girl with her work when the boy attacked her from behind after winking at another pupil in the classroom.

"The defendant approached his teacher and began to stab her in the neck and back," said Mr Greaney.

"Ann Maguire was 61 years of age, 5ft 2in in height and of slim build.

"The defendant was a full foot taller and was armed with a large kitchen knife.

"To describe his attack as cowardly hardly does it justice."

The prosecutor said Mrs Maguire fled but was chased by Cornick, who was "stabbing her as she sought to escape".

Mrs Maguire was stabbed seven times before colleague Susan Francis, alerted by children screaming, rushed her friend into a work room and held the door shut.

Mr Greaney said: "She was able to see the boy through a glass panel in the door. His face was emotionless and he then walked away."

Cornick went back to the classroom and sat down "as if nothing had happened", the prosecutor told the court.

"He said that he had stabbed Mrs Maguire," said Mr Greaney. "He added that it was a pity she was not dead.

"He said to the entire class 'good times' and spoke of an adrenaline rush."

The boy told a psychiatrist after the killing that he had a "sense of pride" in killing Mrs Maguire, the court heard.

Mr Greaney said when the expert asked about the impact on Mrs Maguire's family, Cornick replied: "I know the victim's family will be upset but I don't care.

"In my eyes, everything I've done is fine and dandy."

"It's kill or be killed. I did not have a choice. It was kill her or suicide."

But the prosecutor said the teenager's actions were still "inexplicable".

"The parents are decent people and responsible parents," he said. "They are at a loss to understand how and why their son has turned out as he has and they have co-operated fully with the police and with the prosecution.

"It follows that this is not one of those cases in which a defendant's actions may find a degree of explanation in his family circumstances."

Ch Supt Paul Money, of West Yorkshire Police, said no person acting in authority could have foreseen the "cold-blooded" and "cowardly" murder.

Mrs Maguire had worked at the school for more than 40 years and had been due to retire.

In a statement read to the court, Mrs Maguire's widower Don described the attack as a "monumental act of cowardice and evil".

Her sister Denise Courtenay said: "We will never recover from this pain and anguish.

"No amount of punishment can compensate us for what we have lost."

Speaking after Cornick had been sentenced, Nigel Richardson, head of children's services at Leeds City Council, said everyone's thoughts were with Mrs Maguire's family, friends and colleagues.

He said her "lasting legacy" would be felt across the local community and throughout Leeds.

Steve Mort, head teacher of Corpus Christi Catholic College, said: "I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all our staff and students, present and past, for the way that they have coped and continue to cope with this shocking and unprecedented incident.

"I would also like to say thank you for the amazing tributes and messages of sympathy and support that we have received in school from across Leeds, from around the country and from far further afield.

"We have drawn great strength and comfort from these and from our shared faith, and we continue to remember Ann and her family in our prayers."

"Steve Mort, head teacher of Corpus Christi Catholic College" ironic name?

[Lord Jim]

Won't some EU appellate court over rule this sentence as "inhumane"?

[Gob]

Wouldn't surprise me.

[Daisy]

So he'd bragged to friends on Facebook that he was going to kill the teacher and two other teachers several times in advance of the crime. But none of them thought to mention it to anyone....