English teenager who murdered teacher jailed for 20 years

A British schoolboy was jailed for at least 20 years after pleading guilty to stabbing to death a teacher he said he hated in front of horrified pupils during a lesson at a college in northern England.

The boy, then aged 15, murdered Ann Maguire, 61, in April in what was believed to be the first killing of a British teacher by a student in almost 20 years, sending shock waves around the country.

"This tragic case has shocked the nation," said Peter Mann, head of the complex casework unit at the regional prosecution office. He said the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had shown no remorse for what he had done.

"While his deep-seated hatred for Ann appears incomprehensible, we are clear that he calmly and methodically planned this cold-blooded attack on her."

The boy targeted Maguire, a popular teacher, in front of about 30 pupils at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds, Yorkshire, stabbing her repeatedly with a kitchen knife.

He pleaded guilty to murder at Leeds Crown Court yesterday and was told he would spend a minimum of 20 years behind bars.