24-Year-Old Colleen Ritzer, Teacher: Teen Who Admitted To Brutal Rape, Murder To Be Tried As Adult

The accused teenager who has admitted to killing his 24-year-old teacher, Colleen Ritzer, on October 21, 2013 will be tried as an adult and jury selection for his trial has begun, reports the Eagle Tribune and WKRN.

The teen has admitted to the rape and slaying of Ritzer, but the admission will not be admissible in the trial because of his lawyer’s concerns that he was “coerced” by police, reports CBS.

Salem Superior Court Judge David Lowy was “wrangling” with the list of questions that he, defense attorneys, and the prosecution may ask potential jurors for the trial of the teen accused in the grisly killing of Colleen Ritzer. The lawyer for Philip Chism has prepared 35 questions to ask of the proposed jury. Judge Lowy has stated that the defense will not be permitted to ask every question, reducing the amount of influence they have in the jury selection.

Then 24-year-old Colleen Ritzer was a popular teacher at Danvers High School in Danvers Massachusetts. Ritzer’s murder prompted an outpouring of grief from the community, with few believing that she could meet with such a terrible fate.

Ritzer’s Twitter feed was active right up until the day her life was taken, with tweets showing that she held a deep appreciation not only for mathematics, the subject she taught, but with encouraging her students to make the most out of their lives.

Geometry – here is the link to the review packet answer key as well as extra problems if interested: http://t.co/PrpVFdRqyf

— Colleen Ritzer (@msritzermath) October 21, 2013

“I adored her. I knew what a wonderful, giving human being Colleen was, and I just felt it was such a senseless, tragic event and I just felt like I had to do something,” Nina Caron, the mother of childhood friends of Ritzer who organized a memorial running event, stated with regard to the teacher’s untimely death.

Ritzer’s ravaged body was found in a wooded area near the high school on October 24, 2013. The teacher’s throat had been slashed and she had been sexually assaulted with a stick. A note reading, “I hate you all,” was found near Colleen Ritzer’s body.

Surveillance footage examined by authorities after Ritzer mysteriously disappeared led to the discovery of her body. In the footage, Ritzer can be seen entering a high school lavatory with the 14-year-old accused murderer and never leaving. Twelve minutes passed before the teen is shown dragging a recycling bin out, as reported by the Inquisitr.

“After she insulted me, that’s when I became the teacher,” the teen was reported to have stated with regard to Ritzer commenting on a drawing he was working on, when she used the word “Tennessee,” which some have speculated may have set him off. Chism was reportedly new to Danvers and had moved from Tennessee as a result of a split between his parents.

The Colleen Ritzer murder trial will be the first high-profile one in the county of Essex in which lawyers have the opportunity to question potential jury members, with queries vetted by the presiding judge. The procedure has long been used in other states, but Massachusetts has only recently adopted the practice.

Lawyer Denise Regan, who is defending the teen, was reported to have asked for, and been denied, a change of venue as a result of concerns of potential bias from jurors in the case, which is well-known to residents of the area. The 35 questions for jurors Regan has submitted to Judge Lowy are thought to focus on prior knowledge of the case in an effort to “ferret out” any bias. Some questions are also thought to focus on race and thoughts of community outsiders as the accused teen is black and had recently moved from out-of-state.

Jurors are expected to be taken to the crime scene where Colleen Ritzer was raped and murdered and it is expected that Danvers High School students will be given a half-day off from school to accommodate this.

The trial in the case of Collen Ritzer is set to take place beginning in February 2016.

[Colleen Ritzer Screenshot Courtesy Telemundo Boston / Twitter — Christmas Ornament Screenshot Courtesy Ritzer Scholarship / Twitter — Fenway Park Photo by Alex Trautwig / Getty Images]