A man convicted of raping and killing a Massachusetts high school teacher more than a decade ago when he was a teenager pleaded guilty Friday to charges related to another “horrific” assault case and terrifying” involving an employee of the Ministry of Youth Services.
Philip Chism, now 25, was just 14 when he strangled Colleen Ritzer, his algebra teacher, and stabbed her multiple times with a box cutter in a Danvers High School bathroom in 2013. He then used a recycling bin to bring her body into nearby woods.
During closing arguments in his rape and murder trial, prosecutors said Ritzer was “stripped, beaten, brutalized and raped.” Chism, of Danvers, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2016 in connection with Ritzer’s death.
Appearing in Boston Juvenile Court, Chism, charged as a juvenile offender, pleaded guilty to attacking and seriously injuring a DYS worker on June 2, 2014.
Authorities say Chism, who was 15 at the time, escaped staff at the Dorchester Metropolitan Detention Center and followed the clinician into the bathroom, where he trapped her, strangled her, beat her and attacked her with a pencil well cut.
When the judge asked him if he was voluntarily admitting to the facts presented in court by a prosecutor, Chism replied: “That is correct, your honor. »
The victim was not present in court for Chism’s change of plea, but in a statement read by the prosecutor on her behalf, she called Chism a “monster.”
“After this horrible and terrifying event, I remembered the bruises on my face, around my body and my neck,” the prosecutor read from the statement. “His face still haunts me, that lack of emotion, just ready to kill… Real monsters exist in this world. Philip Chism is a monster.
A charity, the Colleen Ritzer Memorial Fund, was founded after her death. The fund awards hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and scholarships to future teachers.
Ritzer, known for always having a smile on her face, loved teaching and loved life. She graduated from Assumption College in 2011 and was a standout student at Andover High School, graduating in 2007.
At the time of her death, her family said in a statement: “We are mourning the tragic death of our incredible and beautiful daughter and sister. Everyone who knew and loved Colleen knew of her passion for teaching and the way she mentored each of her students.
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