Philip Chism back for juvenile court

She claimed the teen was in the midst of a psychotic episode when he killed his teacher.

The verdict came at the very end of the day, after nearly nine hours of deliberation, which began Monday afternoon.

The Massachusetts teenager accused of raping and brutally killing his high school math teacher in 2013 was found guilty of first-degree murder on Tuesday.

Chism’s lawyers admitted the teen killed Ms Ritzer, but asked the jury to find him not guilty by reason of insanity. He was acquitted of a second aggravated rape charge.

Wearing their daughter’s favorite color of pink as they addressed the conviction of her killer, the parents of Colleen E. Ritzer on Tuesday vowed to make sure that she is remembered for the kindness she showed in life. Defense lawyers have asked for a pre-sentencing investigation because he is a minor.

Jurors were shown chilling surveillance video that showed Chism putting on a pair of gloves as he followed Ms Ritzer into the bathroom on 22 October 2013. Ritzer’s body was later found in the woods behind the school, police said.

CCTV footage of Chism after the murder of Ritzer.

Prosecutors say Chism knew right from wrong and plotted to kill the 24-year-old Ritzer, bringing a box cutter, gloves and other items to school.

Chism was 14 at the time.

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 girl with a backpack can be seen entering the bathroom but leaving quickly, as if shocked by what she had seen or heard. Ritzer was his math teacher at Danvers High School.

Yet the prosecutor told the court Chism was sane after planning the crime in advance.

Philip Chism appears in Salem Superior Court on December 14, 2015, during closing arguments. Regan said Chism lost his support system when he moved to MA from Tennessee.

Family members have also instituted a scholarship fund in her honor.

“He was an unusually tall African American boy in a predominantly white school who had no place to hide”, said Regan.

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

“He had a goal”, said MacDougall.

Chism’s attorneys had argued that he suffered from a severe mental illness that had gone undiagnosed for years.