The 14-year-old accused of murdering his young math teacher at Danvers High School allegedly raped 24-year-old Colleen Ritzer before killing her, prosecutors said Thursday in outlining a first-degree murder indictment against Philip D. Chism. Chism, a top junior varsity soccer player at the Massachusetts school, allegedly attacked Ritzer after she asked him to stay after school in October to prep for an upcoming test. The teen is accused of stabbing Ritzer to death in a school bathroom before dumping her body in a patch of woods behind the school. Chism is charged as an adult on the murder count, the Essex County district attorney wrote in a statement, and faces the aggravated rape and armed robbery charges as a juvenile. He allegedly stole her credit cards, iPhone and her underwear after sexually assaulting Ritzer with an object and killing her, prosecutors contend.
The indictments returned today detail horrific and unspeakable acts,” District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement. “This is the first step in a long process to secure justice for Ms. Ritzer and her family.” The teen, who moved from Tennessee over the summer and had started at the school this year, is being held without bail at a juvenile facility.
It’s unclear when he’ll be arraigned on the charges. Police still have not revealed a possible motive for why the 14-year-old allegedly followed Ritzer into the second-floor bathroom on Oct. 22 and punched her in the face before slashing her throat with a box cutter.
Police began searching for Ritzer after being alerted that she did not return home from work or answer her cellphone. Cops found her in the woods after blood was found in the bathroom. Chism, too, was reported missing, and cops found him wandering along a road sometime later. He reportedly went to see the Woody Allen flick “Blue Jasmine” after the killing.
Days later, more than 1,000 turned out at a memorial service for Ritzer, who was remembered by a former teacher as “the most beautiful and amazing soul that any parent could ask for, any friend could ask for.”
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: NYD
The 14-year-old accused of murdering his young math teacher at Danvers High School allegedly raped 24-year-old Colleen Ritzer before killing her, prosecutors said Thursday in outlining a first-degree murder indictment against Philip D. Chism. Chism, a top junior varsity soccer player at the Massachusetts school, allegedly attacked Ritzer after she asked him to stay after school in October to prep for an upcoming test. The teen is accused of stabbing Ritzer to death in a school bathroom before dumping her body in a patch of woods behind the school. Chism is charged as an adult on the murder count, the Essex County district attorney wrote in a statement, and faces the aggravated rape and armed robbery charges as a juvenile. He allegedly stole her credit cards, iPhone and her underwear after sexually assaulting Ritzer with an object and killing her, prosecutors contend.
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