Mass. teacher’s throat was cut
Tennessee boy charged
SALEM, Mass. — The body of a popular Massachusetts teacher who police say was killed by one of her students was found in the woods, naked from the waist down, with her throat slit and a note that read, “I hate you all,” according to court documents released Friday.
The search warrant application was released after requests by The Associated Press, The Boston Globe and other media organizations.
Philip Chism, a 14-yearold soccer player who moved from Clarksville, Tenn., at the beginning of the school year, is charged with murder, aggravated rape and armed robbery in the Oct. 22 death of 24-year-old Danvers High School math teacher Colleen Ritzer. His attorney, Denise Regan, said Friday she had no comment. He is being held without bail.
Police have not released a motive. Autopsy results have not been made public.
A student whose name was concealed in the documents told police that the day of the killing, she had stayed after class for help and heard Ritzer and Chism talking.
Ritzer mentioned Tennessee, and Chism appeared upset, but the teacher didn’t appear to notice and kept talking about it. When Ritzer did notice, she changed the subject, but the student noticed Chism talking to himself.
According to the documents, surveillance video showed Chism putting on gloves and wearing a hood as he followed Ritzer into a bathroom. The documents say he brought a box cutter, mask, gloves and multiple changes of clothing to school that day.
Ritzer was reported missing when she never returned home. Her body was found in woods near the school, partly covered in leaves, and police said it appeared to be sexually positioned. Authorities say she had been sexually assaulted. A recycling barrel was nearby.
Surveillance video indicates a student may have seen part of the crime. As Chism and Ritzer are apparently in the bathroom together, a female student walks in, then quickly walks out. The student later said a person with dark skin appeared to be changing clothes. Chism is biracial; Ritzer was white.