The Teenager Who Murdered His School Teacher
By: Jacob Wilkins
Tags: Schools, True Crime, Crime, Murder, Teenagers

The Teenager Who Murdered His School Teacher

Image of kitchen knives by congerdesign (Pixabay)

Will Cornick was just fifteen years old when he committed murder at a secondary school in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Ann Maguire’s death was deeply disturbing for all those who attended Corpus Christi Catholic College. Yet the most shocking aspect of the murder was Will’s reaction to his crime.

Just another teenager

Will wasn’t known for misbehaviour during his school career. In fact, from an academic perspective, he was a good student.

The teachers at Corpus Christi described the teenager as ‘enthusiastic’ and ‘conscientious’. Indeed, Will achieved five GCSEs a year earlier than most of his classmates.

Though his mother and father were divorced, Will’s home life wasn’t problematic. He had a healthy relationship with both his parents and he got on well with his siblings.

Will enjoyed listening to heavy metal and playing video games in his spare time — Assassin’s Creed was his game of choice. And he was also fond of Pulp Fiction, the 1994 gangsta movie by Quentin Tarantino.

Warning signs

Despite Will’s academic achievements and stable home life, there were clear signs that he was psychologically subnormal.

At the end of 2013, Will sent several disturbing messages via Facebook during the Christmas holidays. He said that Mrs. Maguire deserved to be tortured and killed and that he would willingly assassinate her for a tenner (£10).

Some of these messages were sent out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And the following January, he expressed even more animosity towards his Spanish teacher:

‘I want power. I want the capability or choice in a sense to be able to get told off by Maguire and for me to turn around with the skill, pride and power and axe her f*****g cockles with a long and shiny blade.’

Will also expressed his desire to kill two other teachers: Andrew Kellett and Sinead Miley.

But Mrs. Maguire was always the teacher he hated the most. Due to Will’s academic ability, Mrs. Maguire would push him during her classes, as she wanted him to fulfill his potential. Will, meanwhile, didn't respond well to her teaching methods — he just wanted to be left alone.

Two months before her death, Mrs. Maguire also banned Will from going on a school trip because he hadn’t done his homework. Though he defied her wishes and went on the trip anyway, this incident only increased Will’s hatred.

The murder

On the 28th of April 2014, Will took an eight-inch knife from his kitchen. He then nestled the weapon inside his bag with his books and school supplies.

Far from keeping it a secret, Will withdrew the knife and flashed it in front of ten other students when he arrived at Corpus Christi. He even told them what he was going to do with it. But due to Will’s casual tone and the absurdity of his plans, no one took him seriously — the other students assumed he was joking.

Nobody reported the presence of a knife on the school premises. Will just sat through his first two classes with the murder weapon inside his bag.

Then, during the third lesson of the day, he made his move.

After withdrawing the knife, Will winked at another student before walking out into the corridor. He strode along the fourth floor and entered Mrs. Maguire’s classroom.

Without hesitation, Will rushed towards his target and started attacking her. Screams of terror erupted from the onlooking students as Mrs. Maguire endured the agony of seven stab wounds, one of which severed her jugular vein.

Holding her neck and bleeding profusely, Mrs. Maguire staggered into the corridor. She then collided with Susan Francis — another teacher who had come to investigate the screaming. Miss Francis carried her dying colleague into an office and phoned the emergency services at once.

For the next few minutes, Miss Francis held Mrs. Maguire as she bled to death on the office floor. And at one point, Will actually approached the door and looked through the glass.

His face was completely passive. He looked neither happy nor shocked. He simply observed the bloodied state of Mrs. Maguire before walking back down the corridor and returning to his seat.

No remorse

Due to the severity of the attack, Mrs. Maguire was dead by the time the ambulance arrived.

Craig Sagar — one of the paramedics — said the stab wound upon the victim’s neck was the worst he’d ever seen.

The police officers, meanwhile, were astonished by Will’s attitude. He was totally unfazed by the situation. He even asked one of the officers what his favourite film was. And when the officer didn’t reply, Will started talking about adrenaline sports instead.

Worst of all, Will actually grinned a few times as he was taken away from school and into custody.