A 14-year-old boy was being held on a murder charge Wednesday after the body of a female teacher (Colleen Ritzer) was found in woods near the high school in Danvers, Massachusetts. All seven schools in the suburban Boston town were closed as a result…
Advertisement
Her mother, Peggie Ritzer, called the sentence unacceptable.
Chism followed Ritzer into a school bathroom, strangled her, stabbed her at least 16 times and raped her. He was convicted in December of 2013.
Ritzer’s parents wiped away tears as they remembered their smiling, joyous eldest child and the pain of her loss.
Peggie Ritzer said after the sentencing that the imposed punishment wasn’t enough.
The sentencing hearing for a MA teenager convicted of raping and killing his high school math teacher is underway.
On the first degree murder conviction, Salem Superior Court Judge David Lowy sentenced Chism to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years.
Philip Chism’s sentence of 40 years in prison with the possibility of parole is causing outrage with Colleen Ritzer’s family, but 5 Investigates reports the judge really had no choice. Security camera footage shows the teen following Colleen Ritzer into the restroom, then wheeling her body out to the woods in a recycle bin. He received 40-year concurrent sentences on rape and robbery charges.
Tom Ritzer, Colleen’s father, added that the SJC’s 2013 decision was “flawed and misguided”.
“We are disgusted and personally offended with the defense’s repulsive recommendation that Colleen’s killer be parole eligible within 15 years, therefore putting him back into society at age 29 to kill again”, she said.
The Ritzers said that Chism doesn’t deserve a second chance because they daughter will never get one. “And I lost my attractive little girl”.
Tom and Peggie Ritzer remain in Salem Superior Court in silence after the sentencing of Philip Chism in Salem Superior Court, Salem, Mass., Friday, Feb. 26, 2016.
The 14-year-old boy who was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on a murder charge in the death of a MA teacher was named in court as Philip Chism.
Brother Daniel Ritzer said, “She was the greatest sister a kid could ask for”.
District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said, “As we stand here today, I want everyone to see the impact of that decision”.
The defense admitted Chism killed Ritzer but said he was suffering from severe mental illness and wasn’t criminally responsible for his actions.
Chism, now 17, had pleaded not guilty under reasons of insanity.
She reminded the court of pending charges against him in Suffolk County, charges the jury in his murder trial were barred from hearing about. Chism’s lawyers argued he was legally insane when he attacked and killed Ritzer. Surveillance video from inside the school – including that which showed Chism following Ritzer to the bathroom where she was killed – was part of the prosecution case.
Advertisement
A parole hearing is required because in 2013, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court banned life without parole for those who commit crimes before they’re 18.
