On 28 April 2014, 61-year-old teacher Ann Maguire (5 April 1953 – 28 April 2014)[1] was stabbed to death while teaching a Spanish lesson at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Halton Moor, Leeds, England. The perpetrator, William "Will" Cornick, who was 15 years old when he committed the murder, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years at Leeds Crown Court on 3 November 2014.

Victim

Ann Maguire (née Connor)[2] was aged 61 when she was murdered. She and her husband of 37 years, Donald, had two grown daughters, the younger of whom is Royal Ballet soloist Emma Maguire.[3] She had spent her entire working life at Corpus Christi Catholic College, having taught there for 40 years, and was due to retire in five months.[3] Her funeral service was held at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on 16 May 2014.[4]

Among those paying tribute to Maguire were Pope Francis, Prime Minister David Cameron, and Frances Lawrence, widow of London headteacher Philip Lawrence who was murdered in 1995.[5]

Author Anthony McGowan had been a pupil of Maguire's at Corpus Christi in the 1970s. He wrote an article about her in the Telegraph in which he said:

"What I remember most about her was her determination to get the best from us, to put into our heads what we needed to get through, to get by. That caring, that intensity, could at times spill over into fierceness, goaded by some jackass, or when she came across bullying or unkindess in others. But it isn’t the fierceness that I remember when I think of her. I think of her face, always on the verge of a smile. Her consideration. The way she listened when you spoke to her, and tried to answer, rather than fob you off. I remember her kindness and consideration for me."[6]

An Educational Trust offering bursaries in artistic subjects was set up in her name.[4]

Perpetrator

Will Cornick
A white male teenager with dark hair and a black t-shirt, shown from the shoulders up. He has a neutral expression and is against a grey backdrop.
Mugshot of Cornick, taken by West Yorkshire Police
Born
William Cornick

(1998-06-26) 26 June 1998[7]
Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
NationalityEnglish
OccupationStudent
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Criminal statusIncarcerated
MotiveHatred
Criminal chargeMurder
PenaltyLife with minimum of 20 years
Details
VictimsAnn Maguire
Date28 April 2014
Location(s)Corpus Christi Catholic College, Halton Moor, Leeds
Target(s)Mrs Maguire, a pregnant teacher and another teacher
Killed1
WeaponsKnife
Date apprehended
28 April 2014

Will Cornick's parents were separated, yet both were described as supportive.[8] He joined Corpus Christi in Year 7. His former Head of Year described him as polite and with 100% attendance. Prior to the murder, he had only five incidents of misbehaviour in four-and-a-half years at the school, and no criminal record.[8] Classmates described him as academically gifted, and unlikely to cause trouble.[9]

A personality change in Cornick had been noted following a collapse on holiday in Cornwall, after which he was diagnosed with diabetes.[10] He had briefly self-harmed due to the condition.[8] In 2013, he was upset when he learned that he would not be able to join the Army due to his diabetes.[8] On Christmas of that year, he allegedly sent a Facebook message to a friend in which he talked about "brutally murdering" Maguire.[8]

Murder

Cornick admitted to psychiatrists that he had been planning the murder, and intended to do it four days earlier.[8] Cornick, who had a "deep seated grudge" against Ann Maguire, had also put out a Facebook message to his friends to see if any of them would murder Maguire for him for a payment of £10.[11][12]

On 28 April 2014, Cornick attended lessons as normal. After morning break, he went to the top floor for his Spanish lesson. Half way through the lesson, he stabbed Maguire seven times in the back and neck with a 21 cm (8.3 in) knife. One cut straight through her jugular vein. He then chased her into the corridor where Susan Francis (Head of Languages), alerted by screams, ran to help her. She separated and shielded Maguire from Cornick.[13] Francis got Maguire away into another room where she held the door shut to keep Cornick out. Cornick then returned to his class and told a friend that it was a shame that he had not killed Maguire.[10]

Cornick had brought a bottle of whisky to "celebrate" and admitted he planned to kill two other teachers.[10]

On his arrest, Cornick was detained at Wetherby Young Offenders Institution near Leeds, but due to concerns for his safety he was transferred to HM Prison Hindley near Wigan.[14]

Due to an anomaly in British law, although it was illegal to name or identify Cornick during his trial due to his being a minor, it was legal to name him before the trial began. The tabloid newspaper The Sun named him the day following the murder.[15]

Psychiatrists said that Cornick possessed “a gross lack of empathy for his victim and a degree of callousness rarely seen in clinical practice” and that he “presents a risk of serious harm to the public and that this risk is present for the foreseeable future. The risk is of grave homicidal violence and this could easily involve the use of a weapon. The risk is immediate and unpredictable and could cause serious and lethal injury.”[8]

He was imprisoned at Leeds Crown Court for a minimum of 20 years.[8] He has never shown any remorse for his actions. He said that he knew "the family would be pissed off", but he thought that "everything [that he had done] was fine and dandy".

Mr Justice Coulson lifted the restrictions on naming Cornick, saying that the action would have a "clear deterrent effect". Cornick's defence lawyer Richard Wright brought up that this would be illegal under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights due to immediate threat to his life, which the judge countered with Article 10, freedom of expression.[16]

Allegedly other western European nations would be less severe though the tariff appears to be in line with tariffs for other UK minors convicted of murder.[17]

In January 2015, Cornick lost an appeal against his sentence.[18]

In November 2017, an inquest was held into Ann Maguire's death. The inquest was supported by Ann Maguire's family, but resisted by the Yorkshire Police, Corpus Christi School, and Leeds City Council. The inquest questioned why Cornick's peers had not reported that he planned to kill Maguire, nor said anything when he brought a knife to school. It returned a verdict of unlawful killing, and found that opportunities to prevent her murder were missed.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Woods, Mike (21 December 2014). "Ann Maguire remembered by Mike Woods". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Youngs, Ian (23 May 2014). "Tragic twist to author Anthony McGowan's stabbing story". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  3. 1 2 Shute, Joe (1 May 2014). "Family of Ann Maguire face teenager accused of her murder in court". Telegraph. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Ann Maguire's husband tells teacher's funeral of her passion for her job". The Guardian. Press Association. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  5. ↑ Evans, Martin; Dixon, Hayley; Edgar, James (30 April 2014). "Teacher murder: Pope sends his condolences to family of Ann Maguire". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  6. ↑ McGowan, Anthony (30 April 2014). "Murdered teacher: 'Mrs.Maguire, the teacher I loved'". Telegraph. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  7. ↑ "R v William Cornick Leeds Crown Court 3 November 2014 Sentencing Remarks" (PDF). judiciary.uk. 3 November 2014. p. 6. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pidd, Helen (3 November 2014). "Will Cornick: a model student who planned murder for three years". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  9. ↑ Potts, Lauren (3 November 2014). "Ann Maguire stabbing: Killer was a 'typical, nice lad'". BBC News. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 Pidd, Helen (3 November 2014). "Will Cornick named and jailed: the boy who murdered his teacher". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  11. ↑ Street-Porter, Janet (24 November 2017). "After the death of Ann Maguire, should parents be given the right to monitor their children's social media?". The Independent. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  12. ↑ Swerling, Gabriella (14 November 2017). "Ann Maguire's killer, 15, offered his friend £10 to murder the teacher". The Times. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  13. ↑ Rayner, Gordon (3 November 2014). "Boy, 16, winked at fellow student before stabbing teacher Ann Maguire to death as she tried to flee". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  14. ↑ Allison, Eric (3 November 2014). "Will Cornick faces downhill path from young offender institution to prison". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  15. ↑ Greenslade, Roy (29 April 2014). "The Sun's naming of Leeds stabbing suspect highlights legal anomaly". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  16. ↑ "Naming Will Cornick has clear deterrent effect, says judge". The Guardian. Press Association. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "Will Cornick sentence disproportionate, say youth justice campaigners". The Guardian. 4 November 2014.
  18. ↑ "Teenage killer loses appeal against sentence". Ann Maguire murder. BBC News. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Ann Maguire inquest jury finds opportunities missed to save teacher". The Guardian. 22 November 2017.
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