MA teen found guilty of murdering math teacher

Colleen Ritzer, 24, of Andover, a well-liked teacher at Danvers High School was found in October 2013 in the woods near Danvers High School, raped and with her throat slashed.

Defense attorneys did not contest that Chism, 16, committed the “terrible acts” against Colleen Ritzer at Danvers High School, north of Boston, in 2013.

A MA teenager who raped and killed his high school math teacher “knew right from wrong and could choose right from wrong”, a prosecutor said Monday during closing arguments in the teen’s murder trial.

Prosecutors said the teenager strangled Ritzer, stabbed her with a box cutter and then used a large trash bin to haul her body into nearby woods. According to another student who also stayed behind, Ritzer started talking to Chism about how he found the new community compared to his old town of Clarksville, Tennessee.

Jurors deliberated for a little over three hours before going home for the day.

Chism was also found guilty of armed robbery. His lawyers admit he killed Ritzer, but say he was severely mentally ill and have asked the jury to find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

Chism now faces life with the possibility of parole after 15-25 years.

Jurors were shown chilling surveillance video from the school that shows Ritzer walking into the bathroom, then Chism following her and putting on gloves.

Philip Chism is charged with raping and killing Colleen Ritzer in 2013. The student said Chism became visibly upset and Ritzer eventually changed the subject.

“This moment belongs to Colleen Ritzer”, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said.

The popular Danvers High School teacher’s body was later found in a wooded area near the school. Some seconds later, Chism poked his head out of the classroom and looked down the hallway. He put on a pair of gloves and walked into the bathroom.

The prosecution argued Chism is manipulative and lying, and not legally insane.

Chism, now 16, was tried as an adult. She graduated from Assumption College in 2011 and began teaching at Danvers High School in September of 2012. Defense lawyers have asked for a pre-sentencing investigation because he is a minor.

Prosecutors in that case say Chism had been in custody at a youth detention facility in Boston when he followed a female worker into a locker room.