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| Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzeris seen in this undated photo provided by the family of Ritzer. Fourteen-year-old high school student Philip Chism was accused of killing Ritzer, a well-liked math teacher at Danvers High School, in Danvers, Mass., whose body was found in the woods behind the school. Law enforcement officials recovered the remains of 24-year-old Ritzer early Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said. Chism was arraigned Wednesday in Salem on a murder charge and ordered held without bail. |
DANVERS, Mass.
(AP) -- A well-liked teacher was found slain in woods behind this
quiet Massachusetts town's high school, and a 14-year-old boy who was
found walking along a state highway overnight was charged with killing
her.
Blood found in a second-floor school
bathroom helped lead investigators to the body of Colleen Ritzer, a
24-year-old math teacher at Danvers High School who was reported missing
when she didn't come home from work on Tuesday, Essex District Attorney
Jonathan Blodgett said.
"She was a very, very respected, loved teacher," Blodgett said.
The
suspect, Philip Chism, was arraigned on a murder charge Wednesday and
ordered held without bail. The teenager, described by classmates as
soft-spoken and pleasant, also did not come home from school the day
before and was spotted walking along Route 1 in the neighboring town of
Topsfield at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Officials didn't release a cause of death and haven't discussed a motive in the killing.
A
court filing said Ritzer and Chism were known to each other from the
high school, but it did not elaborate. The arrest was made based on
statements by the suspect and corroborating evidence at multiple scenes,
investigators said in court documents.
Ritzer's family said they are mourning the death of their "amazing, beautiful daughter and sister."
"Everyone
that knew and loved Colleen knew of her passion for teaching and how
she mentored each and every one of her students," the family said in a
statement provided by her uncle Dale Webster.
At
his arraignment in adult court in Salem, Chism's defense attorney
argued for the proceeding to be closed and her client to be allowed to
stay hidden because of his age. The judge denied the request. The
lawyer, Denise Regan, declined to comment outside court.
The
tall, lanky teenager had moved to Massachusetts from Tennessee before
the start of the school year and was a top scorer on the school's junior
varsity soccer team, said Kyle Cahill, a junior who also plays soccer.
He said the team had been wondering where Chism was when he skipped a
team dinner Tuesday night.
"We're all just a
family. It just amazes me really," Cahill said. "He wasn't violent at
all. He was really the opposite of aggressive."
Ritzer
had a Twitter account where she gave homework assignments, encouraged
students and described herself as a "math teacher often too excited
about the topics I'm teaching."
She was a 2011
graduate of Assumption College in Worcester, a school spokeswoman said
Wednesday.
She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree
in math, a minor in psychology and a secondary education concentration,
according to the college's 2011 commencement program.
One
of her former students, Chris Weimert, 17, said she was a warm,
welcoming person who would stand outside her classroom and say hello to
students she didn't teach. He said she had been at the school for two
years.
"She was the nicest teacher anyone could ever have. She always had a warm smile on her face," he said.
Ryan
Kelleher, a senior, said students related to the young teacher, who
liked to wear jeans and UGG boots just like the teenagers she taught.
Kelleher, who also plays soccer, said the arrest of the soft-spoken
Chism didn't make sense to him.
"From what I
know about him and seeing him every day, it just doesn't add up that he
would do such a thing, unless this was all an act to fool somebody," the
17-year-old said.
Ritzer lived at home with
her 20-year-old brother and her sister, a high school senior. The
close-knit family was often outside, barbecuing, spending time together
and enjoying each other's company, neighbors said.
Mary
Duffy has lived next door to the Ritzers in the suburban neighborhood
in Andover since the family moved there more than two decades ago. She
had known Colleen Ritzer from the time she was a baby and said the
Ritzers' oldest child had just one life ambition: to be a high school
math teacher.
"All I ever heard is that she loved her job," Duffy said.
All public schools in Danvers, about 20 miles north of Boston, were closed Wednesday.
The high school's students were planning a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening.
Ritzer
is the second teacher allegedly killed by a student in the U.S. this
week. A Sparks, Nev., middle school teacher was allegedly shot by a
12-year-old student on Monday.
