British schoolboy’s ‘grotesque’ lack of remorse for stabbing teacher to death
Judge says defendant, who was 15 when he murdered teacher, is also highly dangerous
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 04 November, 2014, 8:57pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 04 November, 2014, 8:57pm
Agencies in London
William Cornick
The pride a schoolboy took in stabbing a teacher to death in front of his horrified classmates and his lack of remorse were "truly grotesque", a judge said in sentencing him.
Judge Peter Coulson, who ordered a ban on identifying 16-year-old William Cornick lifted, jailed the defendant for life, and ordered that he spend a minimum of 20 years behind bars before being considered for release on licence. However, Coulson told Leeds Crown Court in northern England, "it's quite possible that day may never come".
"There can be no doubt that the defendant is highly dangerous," said the judge.
Cornick was 15 years old when he stabbed Ann Maguire seven times with a kitchen knife in a Spanish class at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds, in April. Afterwards, he sat back down next to his classmate and said "good times".
He had previously spoken of his deep hatred of Maguire, a 61-year-old who had been due to retire within months.
Cornick had also spoken of wanting to attack other teachers including a pregnant woman "so as to kill her unborn child".
Cornick, who pleaded guilty to murder, was described by fellow pupils and teachers as an academic high achiever from a middle-class family and a quiet loner.
The court was told he was the son of "responsible and caring parents". His parents are "at a loss to understand" what their son did, prosecutor Paul Greaney said.
After the murder Cornick told one psychiatrist: "It's kill or be killed. I did not have a choice. It was kill her or suicide."
Asked about the impact on her family, he said: "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."
Maguire, a mother of two, taught Spanish and religious education, and had worked at the school for nearly 40 years.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Maguire's husband, Don, spoke of the loss of his "beautiful, vivacious, generous, caring" wife.
"I'm still a dad but cannot help my children understand, cannot help them come to terms, cannot help them lessen the pain ... I can no longer be a dad," he said.
The murder of Maguire, believed to be the first killing of a British teacher by a pupil in almost 20 years, sent shockwaves around Britain, where violent school incidents are rare.
"This tragic case has shocked the nation," said Peter Mann, head of the complex casework unit at the regional prosecution office. He said the teenager had shown no remorse.
"While his deep-seated hatred for Ann appears incomprehensible, we are clear that he calmly and methodically planned this cold-blooded attack on her," he said.
Agence France-Presse, Reuters
