Danvers, MA – A 14-year-old student at Danvers High School has been accused of stabbing a 24-year-old math teacher to death inside the school before hiding her body in nearby woods.
On Tuesday evening, Philip Chism was reported missing after the teen did not return home from school. The lead scorer for the high school’s soccer team also did not show up for an afternoon practice, or a dinner at a teammates house later that night.
At around 11:30 pm, Colleen Ritzer was reported missing by her family after she did not return home from Danvers High School, where she taught math, and was not answering her cell phone. When police went to the school to search for Ritzer, they found a second-floor bathroom covered in blood.
About an hour later, Chism was found walking alone along Route 1 and was taken to the police station. A short time later, police returned to Danvers High and found Ritzer’s dead body in a wooded area near the school. She’d been stabbed to death.
It’s likely Chism admitted to killing the teacher and told police where to find her body, but video surveillance from inside the school captured Chism hauling a recycling bin out of the bloody bathroom and towards the wooded area where Ritz was later found.
Chism has been charged as an adult and was ordered held without bail at his arraignment. The boy’s attorney also requested a mental competency evaluation for her client. I can’t say I blame her. Aside from self-defense, proving Chism isn’t sane enough to stand trial is about the only other card she has left to play. Chism’s probable cause hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 22.
This article was written by Morbid for The Dreamin Demon - the Internet's self-appointed buzzkill.