Teacher arrested for attempted murder

I think it’s normal to be shocked when someone in your community commits a heinous crime, but it drives me nuts when people make loose connections and decide it could have been them. It’s dramatic, self centered, can cause anxiety and is so disrespectful to those who’ve been involved. Imagine being that person who was the victim and hearing others bang on about how it could have been them. Like people who say they’re going to hug their x relative tighter to someone’s who has died.

Why are you condemning the school for his act of violence, @Bottomofthebarrel? They didn't put the knife in his hand. Clearly what he's accused of doing is despicable but nor does that mean all male teachers are the same! My male OH is a teacher and parents like you make me sick, so quick to judge just because of one incredibly rare incident. It's no wonder so few men go into teaching. Plus, way to go to make it all about you! "It's the school's fault, the teachers have lost control, the kids won't behave now, won't anyone think of my precious child."

A woman has been murdered, FGS. Stop picking over the circumstances of her death like it's an episode of EastEnders and pretending this isn't a teacher bashing thread when it clearly is.

Edited to add: You've also made it sound like it happened on school grounds in full view of the children when it happened elsewhere. Quite an important fact, no?

In terms of vetting procedures, it's hard if someone hasn't actually done anything. This bloke could have equally come across as Mr wonderful in work but been an absolute shit behind closed doors. Unless anything was ever reported, no one would have known.

I've worked in schools over the years where at least twice, we've had the announcement that one of our colleagues has been arrested for paedophilia. No previous. Shocked me both times because I didn't see it coming. Shocked me because I always thought I'd know; have a vibe or something. But genuinely, until the news, they wouldn't have been top of my list of blokes who feel off.

There's nothing for the OP to get over, nothing has happened to her or her child. She's making it all about her.

😆

At least there is no punching matches between pupil and teacher like in the 60s and 70s.

There's nothing for the OP to get over, nothing has happened to her or her child. She's making it all about her. And as for the suggestion of a counsellor in another post, words fail me!

Yep, I get that, but they could just as easily hire her for a job one day, or be her taxi driver, or her regular waiter or the man who serves drinks at her local. People like this are everywhere.

If you have regular contact with someone who turns out to be an attempted murderer it’s normal to be a bit unsettled regardless if you were an intended victim of not.

Are you normally such a blunt instrument? JFC.

Don’t you think that someone who tries to murder someone else will have some sort of mental health condition??? I mean, it’s not exactly normal behaviour is it?
Violence is a male pattern behaviour.Murder is committed by substantially more men than women.

There's a difference between male offending patterns and female offending patterns.

It's dodgy ground to start speculating that an awful act of violence must be due to poor mental health when the general public don't have the information to make that assessments.

Fucking hell

I hate the ‘broad daylight’ thing. It has clear “this is shocking because women are allowed to be out in daylight but women shouldn’t be out at night because they’re putting themselves at risk asking for it” vibes. Ugh.

That is horrifying. You are completely reasonable to be very upset and disturbed.

I was going to write this on the music teacher thread but it had already reached a natural conclusion, or rather was going around in circles from posters who hadn’t read the conclusion!

I do think there is a screening gap around teachers who are let go while they are working on a temporary contract, especially if they are paid on a supply basis. With behaviour that is a grey area - not sufficient proof to report to the disciplinary body, whatever the GTC is called these days - they may often simply not be asked back but no further action taken. The supply agency might be told that they weren’t a good fit and it all goes unreported.

Would be interested to know if those working in schools agree that this phenomenon exists or not.

OP I sincerely hope you haven’t said any of this ridiculous notion of her being alone with him in the classroom to her? Of course he wouldn’t have been likely to harm her. The best this you can do for your daughter is calm down, let the school deal with it and reassure any of her fears. You know nothing about what happened, the most likely outcome will be this was a horrific ‘crime of passion’ that has nothing to do with his profession whatsoever. The gossip and drama you’ve displayed in this thread do not help the school or the students and they, along with the woman and her family, will be needing serious support at this time.

remain calm, deal with the facts, support your daughter if she needs it, do NOT make dramatic notions about her being alone with him, simply tell her it would never have happened to her as that’s clearly not his MO, and let the police and the school do their jobs

Yep, I have done thanks

Well that’s worrying but good luck in life!

Some of the responses here! Must have been a mental health issue? Nothing to see, just another man trying to kill a woman in his life? The obligatory reminder that sometimes women murder too?

Not surprising you feel shaken OP IMO.

What additional checks should be done?

Yep, I have done thanks 👍

Right but they aren’t teaching the OP‘s DD.

Yep, I get that, but they could just as easily hire her for a job one day, or be her taxi driver, or her regular waiter or the man who serves drinks at her local. People like this are everywhere.

Yes, it's more shocking when it happens to you but at the end of the day, if someone has passed a background check and has no criminal record, you can't just say "oh, but you might commit murder in twenty years so it's a no from us".

Don’t you think that someone who tries to murder someone else will have some sort of mental health condition??? I mean, it’s not exactly normal behaviour is it?

There's another distinct difference.

Couzens used his position as a police officer to convince Sarah to get the car. His job gave him access to his victim. And is the reason Sarah placed her trust in him.

Same with Lethby. They used their job to gain access to the victim.

That's not the case here. What he did was horrific. But being a teacher, didn't enable him to do it.

Until there's more information, assuming there must be other thing the school should have been expected to know is speculation and not helpful.

If there was an occasion when a child said something like this, then I’d expect the school to come down on him like a ton of bricks!

I don't see people trying to minimise - they're just being honest and saying teachers are people and sometimes people do fucked up things.

Perhaps read the whole thread

Things like this have always happened though and always will as far as ai can tell. Teachers are people and some of them do terrible things, just like in the rest of society. I doubt most of us could spot a killer before they have done anything.

One of the teachers at my school murdered his wife. I remember it causing a lot of gossip for a while but then it settled down and everything just went back to normal. Possibly though, that was because we didn't have social media back in those days so there weren't constant updates etc. It was shocking though, and things like that will always be shocking, as any murder or attempted murder should be.

Well, let’s not excuse what he’s done already as a ‘mental health issue’ until he’s been to court. He may just have been a controlling, abusive, murderous cunt attacking his girlfriend (it’s described as a ‘domestic’ issue on one report), or he may have been unwell. We don’t know yet. All we know is there’s enough evidence to charge him with attempted murder. Now it’s for them to build the prosecution and defence cases.