Teacher’s killer told other pupils of plans

A 15-YEAR-OLD who murdered teacher Ann Maguire had told “at least 10 other pupils” precisely what he planned to do and offered one boy £10 to kill her for him, an inquest has heard.

Will Cornick, who was obsessed with a song associated with a killing spree in Pulp Fiction, “ambushed” Mrs Maguire from behind with a kitchen knife, ensuring she “stood absolutely no chance whatsoever”.

Detective Superintendent Nick Wallen told an inquest jury that on the morning of the murder, Cornick, who is now 19 and serving life in prison, had told other pupils, including the head boy, what he was going to do, showing some of them the knife and asking one boy to film the attack on his mobile phone.

However, he insisted it would be wrong to ask pupils why they did not report what Cornick had said, suggesting that her family, who lost an Appeal Court challenge to the coroner’s decision not to call evidence from them, were seeking the wrong information.

“It would be wholly wrong to sit here and raise that perhaps all this could have been avoided if a 15-yearold boy had told the teacher,” he said.

Det Supt Wallen said none of the children took the threat seriously because Cornick was “prone to say things that weren’t true”, adding that “with hindsight” the police, the school and Cornick’s parents would have stopped Mrs Maguire ‘stood absolutely no chance’ when attacked from behind by Cornick him. Mrs Maguire’s husband, Don, her two daughters, Kerry, an osteopath, and Emma, 33, a soloist with the Royal Ballet, and two nephews who she had raised following the death of her sister, have campaigned for further investigation into her murder at Corpus Christi Catholic College, Leeds, in April 2014.

The jury, sitting at Wakefield Coroner’s Court, West Yorkshire, heard that Mrs Maguire’s murder was a “completely irrational act stemming from a deep-seated grudge”.