Catholic school teacher ‘stood absolutely no chance’ in teenager’s stabbing attack, inquest told

Detective Superintendent Nick Wallen said the 61-year-old “stood absolutely no chance whatsoever” when she was attacked in her classroom by teenager Will Cornick (pictured below) as she taught Spanish at Corpus Christi Catholic College, Leeds, in April 2014.

Mr Wallen was giving evidence on the first day of the inquest into Mrs Maguire’s death which is due to last two weeks at Wakefield Coroners’ Court, in West Yorkshire.

The officer took the jury of six women and five men through the “shocking” events at the school describing how the “slight” and “petite” teacher was “ambushed” by a “strapping 15-year-old lad”.

He said she was stabbed seven times with a kitchen knife Cornick had brought from home, including one blow which cut her jugular vein.

Answering questions Mr Wallen agreed that, on the day he killed Mrs Maguire, Cornick told “at least 10 other pupils precisely what he was going to do – where he was going to do it and how he was going to do it”.

But the detective said none of the children took him seriously and it was not reported to any staff.

He told the inquest: “He was a young man who was prone to say things that weren’t true. That’s the reason that, on the day, most people who Will spoke to thought ‘That’s just Will, that’s what he does’.”

Mr Wallen told the inquest: “This attack came completely out of the blue. Nobody in the classroom saw this coming.”

The officer added: “I would say she stood absolutely no chance whatsoever.”

Mr Wallen said…