British schoolboy jailed for killing teacher in class

LONDON: A 16-year-old schoolboy was jailed for at least 20 years on Monday for stabbing a teacher to death in front of her class, in a murder that shocked Britain.

The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, was 15 when he stabbed popular teacher Ann Maguire to death as she taught a Spanish class at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds, northern England, on April 28.

Judge Peter Coulson told Leeds Crown Court that the boy’s pride in his actions and lack of remorse were “truly grotesque.”

Coulson jailed the boy for life, with a minimum of 20 years to be spent behind bars before he can be eligible for release on licence, though, having read about him, “it’s quite possible that day may never come,” he said.

The boy, who pleaded guilty to murder, had spoken of attacking other school staff, including a pregnant woman “so as to kill her unborn child.”

The boy had told a psychiatrist that he retained “a sense of pride” over the pre-planned killing, the court heard.

Asked about the impact on Maguire’s family, the boy had replied: “I don’t care. In my eyes, everything I’ve done is fine.” His parents are “at a loss to understand” what their son did, prosecutor Paul Greaney told the court.

Maguire, 61, had been due to retire within months. She was stabbed seven times with a large kitchen knife in front of terrified pupils.

After the attack, the boy sat back down in his chair, Greaney said, “as if nothing had happened” and said to the class, “Good times.” Maguire’s sister Denize Courtenay said outside court: “We shall never recover from this pain and anguish. No amount of punishment can ever compensate for the loss of Ann’s life.”