Before 14-year-old Philip Chism allegedly killed his
algebra teacher, the pair had one final interaction as
student and teacher, a witness said.
Chism had been doodling and listening to music
during Colleen Ritzer's algebra I class during the
school's final period, classmate Cambria Cloutier told
CNN. Creating such drawings was unusual for Chism,
and when the final bell sounded at 1:55 p.m.
Tuesday, Ritzer asked him to stay after class.
Cloutier sat two desks over from Chism, who rarely
participated in class discussion but was "a really
good student," she said.
While shuttling between two after-school meetings,
Cloutier said, she looked into the same classroom
and saw Ritzer standing by her computer and Chism
sitting in a chair about 5 to 10 feet away. The teacher
smiled at her, Cloutier recalled.
At some point that afternoon, Ritzer went to a
student girls' bathroom on Danvers High's second
floor, as someone was in the locked faculty
bathroom, a source close to the investigation said.
Chism allegedly followed her in.
The school reopened its doors Friday, as the first
answers began to surface.
How was Ritzer killed? With a box cutter the suspect,
Chism, had brought into school, a source close to the
investigation says.
What happened to her body afterward? It was
stashed in a recycling bin, rolled outside, then
dumped about 20 feet into woods behind the
northeastern Massachusetts high school's athletic
fields, adds another source. It was left there -- not
buried, not even covered.
And where did the alleged killer go afterward? After
changing his clothes, he went to a Wendy's fast-food
restaurant and a movie, sources say, before police in
a neighboring town saw him walking on a busy road
under the pitch-dark sky early Wednesday.Yet the question of why this happened -- why a
popular young educator who always wore a smile
and went the extra mile was killed allegedly by a
teenager who friends, family and co-workers
described as reserved and well-behaved -- continues
to loom large.
Chism, who had moved to the Boston suburb of
Danvers before the start of the school year, remained
jailed without bond Thursday. A grand jury will play a
big part in deciding his next step: If they indict him
for first- or second-degree murder, he -- like any
juvenile age 14 or older -- would be tried as an adult,
based on Massachusetts law.
Meanwhile, the tight-knit North Shore community is
still trying to make sense of what he allegedly did
and of life without a teacher who so many
appreciated, learned from and loved.
"It's just surreal how quickly someone can go, and
how much we take for granted every day," said
Danvers High student Chris Weimert. Ritzer was "the
nicest teacher you could ever have. I can't believe
it."
Two missing persons' reports come together
Students and colleagues described the 24-year-old
Ritzer as someone who gave everything for her
students -- be it a pat on the back, a sensible
explanation to a tricky concept, or the time, effort
and heart to work through problems, math or
otherwise, with them.
One of those students was Chism, a freshman.
Sometime after Ritzer held him back after class, she
was killed in the bathroom.
There, Ritzer was punched a few times before being
killed with a box cutter around 3:30 p.m., said a
source.
Her body went into a recycling bin, then outside the
school where it was tossed. Authorities eventually
found a bin that apparently had been thrown off an
embankment about 100 feet away from Ritzer's
body, a source said.Before police found her -- before they even knew she
was missing -- they'd started looking for Chism.
This was in the early evening, with Danvers Police
tweeting to residents that he hadn't returned home
and was last seen around the Hollywood Hits movie
theater in the town about 20 miles northeast of
Boston.
While they were looking for him, police got a call
around 11:20 p.m. Tuesday about another missing
person: Ritzer. She wasn't home either, nor had she
answered her phones.
The stories started coming together about an hour
later, when police officers in nearby Topsfield found
Chism walking along Route 1.
Whatever he told detectives in his subsequent
interviews, whatever they saw in surveillance
footage from the school, led to Chism's arrest for
murder. It also led them to Ritzer's body in the
woods.
Read the complaint
A quiet and normal student
Chism is a quiet young man, those who know him
said. He excelled at soccer and made a harmless
impression.
"He ... seemed quiet and reserved, but he just
seemed normal," said Ariana Edwards, who was in
Chism's English class.
Chism didn't drink or do drugs, and he came from a
good family, one of his closest friends said. He
described Chism as a good athlete who was shy at
first but eventually warmed up to people, adding that
he hadn't been acting strangely lately.Friends got their first hint that something was awry
when Chism didn't show up for soccer practice
Tuesday. The team set out to look for him after
seeing texts that he was missing.
He was a newcomer to Danvers, a town of about
26,000 people. His family had bounced around, and
he had lived in different cities in Tennessee and
Florida since he was in fourth grade, authorities in
those states said.
A teacher who went the extra mile
Meanwhile, many were at a loss in Danvers to
explain the death of Ritzer -- a woman who inspired
many, whether it be in the classroom or online, with
her heart, intellect and positive spirit.
"She was talking on Saturday about this year was a
good year. She was teaching freshmen for the first
time. She was happy," said Jen Berger, Ritzer's best
friend. "I don't even know what the world is like
without her. It's a scary thought."
Sympathy spread through the region, making its way
into the baseball World Series. Bleachers full of fans
who had assembled to watch the Boston Red Sox
take on the St. Louis Cardinals observed a moment of
silence in Ritzer's honor before Game 1 began
Wednesday night at Boston's Fenway Park.
Ritzer, a 2011 graduate of Assumption College who
was working toward a master's degree at Salem
State University, seemed to always wear a wide
smile and was approachable to students and
colleagues alike, said Charlotte Dzerkacz, who
became good friends with Ritzer in 2011 when they
taught at the same middle school.
"She was energetic, she was compassionate,"
Dzerkacz said. "You couldn't ask for anything more
from a teacher or a friend."
Salem State issued a statement lamenting Ritzer's
death.
"She believed children have much to offer and often
do not realize how special they are as individuals,"
the university said. "In her application to Salem State
she said she was dedicated to 'helping students in
times of need.' "Ritzer was known to take to Twitter to dole out
homework assignments and wisdom to her students.
"No matter what happens in life, be good to people,"
she wrote in August. "Being good to people is a
wonderful legacy to leave behind."
Debate unfolds after teacher slayings in Nevada,
Massachusetts
Comments