Jury will quickly get case of sweet sixteen accused of killing instructor

One of his attorney’s said, “When Philip Chism followed Miss Ritzer into that bathroom, he was not himself”.

24-year-old teacher Colleen Ritzer had been raped twice and her throat had been slit.

Tried as an adult, Chism can be sentenced to life in prison. That case will be heard Wednesday in Suffolk County Juvenile Court.

Chism had been in a youth detention facility in Boston in June 2014 when prosecutors said he followed a worker into a locker room and choked and beat her before other workers intervened. The unnamed worker suffered injuries to her face, jaw, neck and back.

As the verdicts were read, Chism displayed the same appearance he maintained in court throughout the trial, staring straight ahead without emotion.

The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for more than three hours after getting the case Monday, and continued deliberating Tuesday for a total of nine hours over both days.

Jurors today found Philip Chism guilty of first-degree murder in the death Colleen Ritzer as Danvers High School in MA. As reported by ABC News, the incident occurred on October 2013, when Ritzer asked Chism to stay after school.

Peggie Ritzer, Ritzer’s mother, said, “We will carry on and do our very best to find the good in every day”. Citing the testimony of a psychiatrist who examined Chism, defence attorney Denise Regan said the strain of moving from a supportive community in Tennessee to starting as a freshman at a new high school had triggered a psychotic break. The 16-year-old was tried as an adult for the gruesome murder he was charged with at 14.

After some time, Ritzer left the classroom and – in a video shown to the jurors – she could be seen going to the bathroom down the hallway.

Tom Ritzer, Colleen’s father, said that while the verdict is the beginning of justice for his daughter, it is by no means cause for celebration. The jury resumed deliberations Tuesday morning. Chism became upset and Ritzer changed the subject, the student said.

“There is not one single person in this courtroom who wants to believe that a 14-year-old-boy could have done this and not be insane”, prosecutor Kate MacDougall said. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.

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