'Columbine' lad denies diary claim; COURT.Byline: ANDY RUSSELL A TEENAGER who allegedly plotted a copycat Columbine massacre yesterday denied chilling diary claims were meant to be his "epitaph epitaph, strictly, an inscription on a tomb; by extension, a statement, usually in verse, commemorating the dead. The earliest such inscriptions are those found on Egyptian sarcophagi. ". Matthew Swift, 18, and pal Ross McKnight, 16, are accused of planning to bomb their school and then shoot teachers and pupils last April on the 10th anniversary of the mass US school killings. They threatened the atrocity at Audenshaw School in Manchester, where Swift was a student and McKnight still attended, the city's crown court has heard. Swift yesterday claimed threats to copy Columbine columbine, in botany columbine (kŏl`əmbīn), any plant of the genus Aquilegia, temperate-zone perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), popular both as wildflowers and as garden flowers. in his diary were "escapism es·cap·ism n. The tendency to escape from daily reality or routine by indulging in daydreaming, fantasy, or entertainment. ". Prosecutor Peter Wright asked: "It was to be your epitaph after your death?" But Swift answered: "It did contain expressions of frustration and anger but I did not intend it to be left to anyone." Swift and McKnight deny conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions with intent to endanger life. The trial continues. CAPTION(S): ACCUSED MatthewSwift |
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