'I am dying... he stabbed me in the neck': Chilling last words of Spanish teacher Ann Maguire as she lay in a pool of blood as killer student stood 'emotionless as if wearing a mask'

  • Ann Maguire was fatally stabbed by then 15-year-old Will Cornick in April 2014
  • Statement by head of languages at Corpus Christie School, Leeds, was read out
  • A police officer testified that Cornick showed no emotion when he was arrested
  • Cornick was jailed for 20 years later that year and later had an appeal rejected
  • The hearing at Wakefield Coroner's Court continues

By Paddy Dinham For Mailonline

Published: 18:18 GMT, 16 November 2017 | Updated: 20:00 GMT, 16 November 2017

Spanish teacher Ann Maguire uttered the chilling final words 'I am dying' as she bled to death in a pool of blood after being stabbed by one of her students.  

Ann Maguire, 61, was fatally knifed by then 15-year-old Will Cornick on April 28, 2014 after he thrust a 34cm blade into her seven times - one blow slicing her jugular vein.

A statement from Susan Francis, head of modern foreign languages at Corpus Christi school in Leeds, West Yorkshire, was read to the court as medical evidence suggested the trauma of the incident still affected her too much to give live evidence.

In a read statement, she said: 'I had gone up to my work room on the modern foreign languages floor.

'Suddenly there was all this screaming so I flew out into the corridor.

Ann Maguire (left), 61, was fatally knifed by then 15-year-old Will Cornick (right) on April 28 2014

'I saw all these Year 11s screaming and being horrified.

'Ann came out and she was holding the back of her neck, I thought there had been a swarm of wasps at first.

'She kept repeating, 'He has stabbed me in the neck'.

'I put her in the office and shut the door and put my foot against it. Will was stood at the other side of the door motionless.

'I looked at him and screamed at my colleague Stuart.

'She kept saying, 'he has stabbed me in the neck he has stabbed me in the neck'.

'I just remember his face having no emotion on it, none at all.

'It was like a mask on his face, no emotion.

'I opened the door to check and there was a massive knife on the floor outside the room.

'I could see cuts in her jumper and there was lots of blood coming from her neck.

'She said to me, 'I can't breathe, I'm dying, he has stabbed me in the lung, I can't breathe I am dying'.

'The ambulance people arrived. Their faces looked like they had walked into some Armageddon.

The scene outside Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds, after teacher Anne Maguire was stabbed to death

The scene outside Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds, after teacher Anne Maguire was stabbed to death

'She knew she was dying, she just kept saying she was dying.'

Ms Francis said Mrs Maguire could understand 'all kinds of personalities' and would 'stay up all night' to ensure all of her work was on time.

Also giving evidence today paramedic Craig Sagar has described the stab wound inflicted on Mrs Maguire as the worst he had ever seen in his career.

In a read statement to the jury Mr Sagar said: 'In all of my career as a paramedic the stab wound inflicted on Ann Maguire was the worst I had ever seen.

'I had certainly never seen one that had pierced from back to front.'

A police officer who had attended the stabbing, in a written statement read to the jury, told how Will showed no emotion immediately after the murder.

The statement read: 'Cornick said, 'have you got any ice for my hand?'

'At 12.10pm the same day I told him he was under arrest for murder and cautioned him, he made no reply.

'Cornick then asked me 'what is your favourite movie?'

'What is your favourite adrenaline sport because I love adrenaline sports?'

'Cornick then smiled showing no remorse for what he had done.'

Disturbing statements from friend's and fellow pupils of Cornick were read to the court which described how he 'wanted to kill his family' and wouldn't care if 'his dad died in a car crash.'

The jury was told Cornick loved zombie movies, especially Zombieland, and would listen to heavy metal music.

Students said in statements how Cornick 'resented' Ann for keeping him behind after class.

One statement said: 'It was about 11.50am and everyone was screaming.

'He told us that he had stabbed her, Mrs Maguire.

'We thought he was joking because he had always gone on about 'wouldn't it be funny if a train came through the window and hit her or a sniper shot her there and then.'

More mourners outside the school at the time, with a tie hung around the perimeter fence as a mark of respect

More mourners outside the school at the time, with a tie hung around the perimeter fence as a mark of respect

'He would say 'Wouldn't it be funny if she fell out of the windows' and stuff like that.

He said 'One day I am gonna, I am just gonna kill her.'

Cornick's friend said he threatened to 'stab anybody' who told a teacher he had brought a knife into school.

In a read statement, the student named as CB to protect their identity, said: 'He was talking about how he had got a knife in his bag.

'He said he was going to do something to Mrs Maguire.

'We said, 'you are joking and doing it for attention, nobody would do something like that'.

'We never thought anybody would get to the point they would do something that sick.

'I thought he was lying because he had vengeance against teachers.

'Then I said [a friend] said he was going to tell a teacher.

'He said, 'If you tell anybody I will do it anyway and stab that person who told the teacher as well'.

'He said, 'If you tell anybody I will do the same and also stab you in the process'.

'He said he would stab anybody who rats on him.' 

Cornick was jailed for 20 years at Leeds Crown Court, West Yorkshire, on November 3, 2014.

Three months later he had an appeal against his sentence dropped.

Mrs Maguire had given all four decades of her working life at the school.

The inquest has taken place 43 months since Ann's death and is expected to last for two weeks.

The hearing at Wakefield Coroner's Court continues.

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