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Tag: philip chism

  • Colleen Ritzer Dead But Not Forgotten

    Colleen Ritzer, the beloved math teacher whose body was found in the woods near where she taught, lives on through the students and community she touched.

    As details emerge about Philip Chism’s alleged involvement in the murder, focus has been given to the tragic loss of life.

    The intelligent, twenty-four-year-old Danvers High School teacher left encouraging messages through her Twitter account and was known for trying to make the discipline as fun and as exciting as possible.

    Seventeen-year-old Christian Veatch was a senior in Ritzer’s class and remembers how Colleen was able to bring fun into the classroom.

    “She’d just joke around. I loved her class. I hate math, but she made it fun,” Veatch said.

    Ritzer was known to spend time with her students where reports even claim that she had offered to help Philip Chism study for a test on the day of the murder.

    “We ended up talking out in the hall for like 20 minutes. I walked in the class feeling a lot better, more happy. I was ready to do my work. In 20 minutes, she totally changed my attitude. It was amazing,” Veatch said.

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    Mary Duffy of Andover, who is a neighbor of the Ritzer family, recently spoke with the Boston Herald about Colleen Ritzer.

    “If every family had a daughter like Colleen Ritzer, it would be a wonderful world. She always wanted to teach math. Her mother, I believe, is probably a math whiz. She was a quiet, pleasant girl with many friends. She was just like the ideal daughter. She is. This family is a family of America, They are the ideal family, they are friendly, they are loving, close,” Duffy said.

    [Images Via R.I.P. Colleen Ritzer Facebook Page]

  • Danvers Homicide: Teacher, 24, Killed By Student, 14

    CNN reports tragedy out of Boston today, where a Danvers High School mathematics teacher was brutally murdered by a 14-year-old student and dumped in the woods behind the school.

    According to the Essex County District Attorney’s office, 24-year-old Colleen Ritzer was reported missing when she did not return home from school. After discovering blood in a bathroom on the second floor, they expanded the search and found her in the woods, a short distance from Danvers. Ritzer, in addition to teaching, was in the process of earning a master’s degree from Salem State University.

    Classes at Danvers were cancelled at 4:45 a.m. this morning by Danvers town officials because the police were conducting a homicide investigation. The official cause of death for the teacher was not reported.

    The suspect in the case is Philip D. Chism, also reported missing around the same time as Ritzer because he did not return home. The two knew each other from Danvers High, and Chism was new in town, having recently moved there from Tennessee.

    Chism had last been seen leaving a 4:30 p.m. matinee of Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine at 6:30. The movie theatre’s manager, Scott Przybcien, indicated to the Boston Herald that “He blended right in… I think he just was wandering, looking for a place to hide. A movie theater is a perfect place for that.”

    Police tweets indicated their search for Chism began around 9:30:

    The boy was reported found shortly after 7 a.m. this morning:

    Police had picked Chism up just past midnight, walking north on the southbound side of Route 1. He will be arraigned today in Salem court on the charge of murder.

    Here’s an interview with some students who said they knew Chism:

    Additionally, here’s a reporter who uncovered some personal details from interviewing people about Colleen Ritzer:

    [Image via Facebook]