The final moments of Colleen Ritzer were recorded on CCTV.
The footage showed her being followed by a student who would later rape and kill her.
Her killer, 14-year-old Philip Chism, carefully tracked her down and cornered her in the Danvers High School bathroom, where he stabbed her 16 times with a box cutter.
Colleen taught 9th-grade algebra at Danvers High School in Danvers, Massachusetts.
Although she was relatively new, and in her second year at the school, she was loved by everyone.
Her Twitter feed was filled with math problems and games for her students.
 |
| Colleen Ritzer |
October 22, 2013, started like any ordinary fall day.
Colleen carried out her usual teaching routine until about 2:30 p.m.
She stayed after school to offer extra help to a few students struggling with algebra.
No one could have imagined that it would be the last time anyone would see her.
The school day ended around 4 p.m., and extracurricular activities started.
It was during this time that everyone noticed Colleen was missing.
Colleen’s parents, Peggy and Tom Ritzer grew more worried as the hours passed with no word from their daughter.
At 24, Colleen still lived with her parents near Danvers and should have been home from school by that time.
Concerned for his daughter's safety and whereabouts, her father, Tom, drove to the high school.
When he arrived, he found her car still parked in the parking lot.
He asked staff and students if they had seen Colleen, but no one knew where she was.
Panic began to set in.
Tom and Peggy called Colleen’s friends, hoping she might have gone out for a drink after work.
But no one had seen or heard from her.
Fearing the worst, they contacted the police and reported Colleen missing.
Meanwhile, as after-school activities began, the soccer coach noticed that one player, 14-year-old Philip Chism, was missing.
Philip had recently moved to Danvers from Tennessee just two months before.
He was new in town, so he didn’t have many friends yet and mostly kept to himself.
While his absence wasn’t immediately alarming, it was noted.
Philip’s mother, Diana, was becoming increasingly worried too.
Her son was expected to come home after soccer practice but never arrived.
Her son had no friends in the area, and the family was dealing with a difficult period due to a messy divorce.
This was the primary reason they had moved from Tennessee to Danvers.
Philip was having a hard time adjusting and had never wanted to leave Tennessee.
He felt like an outsider at his new school and wasn’t fitting in well.
All calls to his cell phone went unanswered.
At 6:34 p.m., Diana reported her 14-year-old son Philip missing to the police.
A search was launched for the two missing people, Colleen Ritzer and Philip Chism.
Detectives soon found out that Colleen had been Philip’s math teacher.
They were last seen together in a classroom, where Colleen had been giving him extra help.
As police looked through surveillance footage to figure out the timeline, a growing sense of worry began to set in.
Surveillance footage showed Colleen entering the school bathroom at 2:45pm
 |
| Colleen Ritzer going to the bathroom |
Police went into the bathroom where Colleen was last seen and found blood smears.
A search of the area was organized, and Colleen’s discarded and emptied purse was found in the fallen leaves.
Then, at around 3 am, Colleen Ritzer’s lifeless body was found in the woods near the school.
The body was hidden under a pile of leaves.
She had been viciously murdered, found naked from the waist down, covered in blood and scratches.
A note was found nearby that said, “I hate you all.”
Investigation
The police started their investigation, and just a few yards away, they found a recycling bin with bloody clothing inside.
The evidence all seemed to point in a troubling direction.
 |
| Philip Chism |
Philip Chism had been found a couple of hours earlier, walking along a highway in Topsfield.
Topsfield is a neighboring town about 10 minutes away from the school.
He had his backpack with him.
Inside, police found a blood-stained box cutter, women’s underwear, and Colleen’s credit cards.
When asked why he was with Colleen’s items, Philip said he had broken into Colleen’s car and stolen her things.
When they questioned him about the blood on the box cutter, he said it was from Colleen.
At this point, the whole truth started to come out.
What Really Happened?
Earlier that day, when Colleen went to the bathroom, Philip followed her inside.
.jpg) |
| Philip Chism following Colleen Ritzer to the bathroom |
He had come to school that morning with a box cutter, gloves, and a change of clothes.
It was clear this was not an impulsive act.
He even put on his hood and gloves before following Colleen into the bathroom.
After 11 minutes, another student entered and quickly left after seeing a partially naked person and a pile of clothing on the floor.
At the time, the student thought it was someone who was just changing clothes.
Philip came out a short time later in a new set of clothes.
He was caught on camera leaving the bathroom and then returning with a recycling bin.
At 3:14 p.m., he was seen calmly wheeling the bin out of the school and into the woods.
He even calmly walked past a man who was walking his dog but the man didn't suspect a thing
 |
| Philip Chism wheeling the bin |
Once in the woods, he sexually violated her again with a tree branch.
He then disposed of her body in a sexually explicit manner.
The medical examiner later confirmed that Colleen was still alive after the attack and ultimately bled to death from her wounds.
Philip then returned to the school, changed his clothes again, and left.
He went to see a movie, had some food, and wandered around town before eventually being picked up by the police.
 |
| Philip Chism wheeling the bin |
What could have been the motive for this gruesome murder?
Another student who attended the after-school tutoring session said that Colleen had mentioned Tennessee during their lesson.
Philip, who had recently moved from Tennessee against his will, became noticeably upset at the mention of his home state.
It’s unclear whether this comment was enough to trigger his violent reaction or if Philip had been planning violence for a while.
What is clear, is the brutality and calculated nature of his actions.
Philip Chism, a very quiet freshman, came to school that day ready to commit a violent act against his math teacher.
Colleen Ritzer, described as a kind, passionate, and dedicated teacher, had her life taken unimaginably and did not deserve what happened to her.
Justice Served
Philip Chism was tried as an adult due to the severity of his crimes.
He was charged with aggravated rape, robbery, and murder.
Philip was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.
He showed little remorse throughout the proceedings.
While awaiting trial in a youth detention facility, he even tried to attack a female staff member with a pencil.
A psychological evaluation found that Philip had a history of troubling behavior and had attempted to exaggerate any symptoms of mental illness to avoid culpability.
Colleen Ritzer’s family, friends, students, and colleagues continue to mourn the loss of such a bright light in their community. Over 1,000 people attended her funeral.
The Colleen Ritzer Memorial Scholarship has been established in her memory to support future educators.
Her legacy lives on through the countless lives she touched and the passion for teaching she instilled in others.
As for Philip Chism, he will spend the majority of his life behind bars.
You can also read about the Texas Man who was sentenced to 40 Years in prison for killing and dismembering his wife just four months after their marriage.
Click here to see more details.
Source -
https://www.wbur.org/news/2015/12/15/philip-chism-guilty-murder-rape
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/philip-chism-change-of-plea-victim
Comments
Post a Comment