14 YEAR OLD KILLS MATH TEACHER - PHILIP CHISM & COLLEEN RITZER

[HairOfTheDog]

MORE DETAILS/SUSPICIONS REVEALED IN AFFIDAVIT

A newly released search warrant affidavit obtained by CBS News' Crimesider indicates Chism may have recorded the crime on his smartphone before smashing it and discarding it. The warrant seeks to search the shattered phone.

Both Chism’s and Ritzer’s phones were found destroyed near a Danvers movie theater that Chism allegedly went to by himself and watched Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” at in the hours after the murder.

Chism told investigators he destroyed the phones so that authorities wouldn’t be able to track him, police say, according to the affidavit.

Massachusetts State Police Detective Steven Buccheri says in the affidavit that he believes the phones may hold evidence of Chism’s “planning, motive and memorialization of his crime."

"...It is not unusual for individuals involved in homicides, particularly sexually violent homicides, to memorialize their victims' deaths through photographic, audio or video media for further humiliation of the victim or later viewing, for guilt relief or for enjoyment," Buccheri wrote.

The affidavit says the teen admitted on Oct. 22 to killing his teacher but denied having sexual contact with her. Police say DNA tests show otherwise.

Chism had moved to Massachusetts from Clarksville, Tenn., before the beginning of the school year. Students told police that Chism stayed after school to receive extra help the day Ritzer was killed.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/affidavit-ma...rs-murder/
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ETA: If LE's suspicions about Chism taping the crime turn out to be true, I'll be even more convinced that a potential serial killer was stopped young in this case and relieved that he made such a mess of his first kill (though feeling terribly for Colleen Ritzer and her family).

[HairOfTheDog]

CHISM ATTACKS ANOTHER WOMAN

Man I'm glad this kid is behind bars and not roaming the streets.




Snip:
WCVB-TV reported that surveillance video showed Chism following the woman (a worker at the facility where he's incarcerated) into a locker room with a pencil-like object. He allegedly choked and punched her before other staff members pulled him away, the station said.

Chism was 14 when police say he raped, robbed and killed math teacher Colleen Ritzer at Danvers High School in Danvers, north of Boston. Authorities say Ritzer, 24, had asked Chism to stay after school because he was having trouble with his schoolwork. He allegedly followed her into a bathroom and attacked her with a box cutter. Her body was found in a wooded area near the school.

Chism has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, robbery and murder. No charges were immediately filed in the DYS assault.

Chism was taken to Boston Medical Center for a mental health evaluation, WBZ said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boy-charged-...w-assault/

[SIXFOOTERsez]

Time to cut that chickens head off and be done with it.

[HairOfTheDog]

Time to cut that chickens head off and be done with it.

He's a twitcher; definitely one scary kid.



Police say he planned the attack on the prison worker in detail.

Now, the facility is prohibited from placing him in contact with any females.

Story: http://us.cnn.com/2014/06/20/justice/mas...?hpt=ju_c2

[HairOfTheDog]

ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGE AGAINST CHISM FOR ATTACK ON FEMALE JUVIE WORKER

Philip Chism, of Danvers, is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in Suffolk County Juvenile Court for allegedly assaulting a 29-year-old female staff member at the Metro Youth Services facility in Boston, where he was being held while awaiting trial for the murder of his 24-year-old math teach Colleen Ritzer.

For the latest attack on the female worker at the youth facility, Chism is charged with attempted murder by strangulation, assault with intent to murder, kidnapping and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Prosecutors say Chism followed the woman into a bathroom and physically assaulted her.

[Midwest Spy]

I know we're a civilized country, but at this point, we should be a little more like China.

Take him out back, put a bullet in his head, and leave him for the garbage truck.

Enough is enough.

[Duchess]

I agree with MS.

How could that kid get to this age and no one sees how messed up he is? Surely his fuckedupness didn't occur overnight.

[HairOfTheDog]

I agree with MS.

Shit, it must be his birthday or something.

How could that kid get to this age and no one sees how messed up he is? Surely his fuckedupness didn't occur overnight.

People keep a lot of fucked-up shit in their heads. If they act relatively normal, or at least don't draw attention to themselves, it's often difficult for anyone to know it's there.

I think it's very fortunate that Chism was so brazen and shortsighted when he decided to turn his fucked-up thoughts into fucked-up reality. I personally don't doubt he'd have gotten better at it and kept killing people if he hadn't been stopped after his first kill.

He's one cold mofo.

[HairOfTheDog]

Interrogation Tape to be Released before Trial



Sixteen-year-old Philip Chism is charged with first-degree murder and rape in the October 2013 death of Ritzer, 24, his math teacher at Danvers High School. Chism was 14 at the time.

Media organizations have been pushing to have the tape of his interrogation made public. Chism's attorneys had argued that the interrogation is "inflammatory" and would prejudice potential jurors.

A Superior Court judge said yesterday that "under our common law, judicial records are presumptively available to the public." The judge, however, did agree to a defense request to delay the release of the material a week to give them a chance to appeal.

I hope the defense loses the appeal. Chism is one cold little psycho -- I'm curious to see/hear the interrogation tape.

Chism will be tried as an adult. I haven't seen a trial date yet.

[blueberryhill]

I watched similar case on ID channel last evening; student was obsessed with teacher, and stalked her unmercifully for a long time. He drove his car into her house trying to kill her after threatening to do that. He was in the usual psychiatric clinics, then jail. She lived and moved with her family out of state even though he was locked up for life....
People always want to know why, cause normal people (like us here at Mock) can't fathom their behavior. I personally think a lot of the "crazies" are born that way and yes, I know environment plays a big part but a majority of them have something abnormal going on in their brains; they don't think like we do, they don't perceive things like we do, the abnormal part of their brain gets in the way of their behaving the way the rest of us act. I think in this day and age, we should have a test that can identify these brain anomalies before the violent behavior manifests itself in person. I know that isn't practical. Saying someone has a mental disorder, illness, or whatever doesn't mean that is an excuse for their behavior. It just assigns a diagnosis to person to determine appropriate treatment. If someone kills, maims, etc., I think they should stand trial regardless of whether they understand right from wrong. There is something messed up with these people; they don't have to have a motive for their actions. Their brains dictate their behavior and they most often, kill again IMO. No amount of treatment is going to cure the brain defect which causes them to act out violence. Maybe 100 years from now, they will have brain transplants available, but until then, we have to start weeding out these people. We need to release some of the prisoners who are in prison for drug related offenses (some exceptions)
and make room for the really violent in our society and study in identification of same. In this case, Chism probably exhibited his killer tendencies prior to his killing his teacher. Don't think we, as a society, take these threats seriously enough, and stalkers don't have many repercussions except maybe a restraining order which, doesn't work. We tend to wait until someone is harmed before taking threats or behavior seriously. I think we need more lock up facilities for these people. In many ways, the criminally insane are more dangerous than the average wife killer, etc. There are many closed military installations across the USA which are sitting empty which could be used to contain some of our dangerous citizens who walk among us every day. I think some of these violent people who end up killing themselves at end of their reign, should have brains studied for commonalities, etc. There have been a few studies which show difference in the brains of violent persons as opposed to a "normal" person. Sorry, to have rambled so long, but human behavior fascinates me. I guess that is why I went into mental health field, but my training was way back in the 70's. I fully support research for cure of disease and would support same for brain deficient individuals.

[HairOfTheDog]

Judge Tosses Confession and Cell Phone Records


^ Chism in court for ruling

The judge believed that Chism's mother wanted an attorney in the interrogation room and wasn't afforded one before her son confessed. The judge also wasn't convinced that Chism understood his Miranda rights.

It's a good thing that prosecutors have surveillance video of Chism following Colleen Ritzer into the bathroom and that they found her underwear and credit card on Chism.

It's a real loss for the prosecution, but I don't think they need the taped confession or cell phone records to secure a conviction on this one.

Story: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judg...sm-n316841

[HairOfTheDog]

MURDER TRIAL STARTS NEXT WEEK



It's been two years since then 14-year-old ^ Philip Chism raped and killed his 24-year-old math teacher in the school bathroom, and then dumped her body in a trash bin in the woods behind the school.

He was found walking along the highway hours later and had the box cutter used to slash her throat, her black underwear, and her ID and credit cards in his backpack. School surveillance captured him following her into the bathroom and moving the trash bin.

His defense attorney is reportedly going for an insanity defense, and will use his age and his parents' recent divorce to argue that he had a mental breakdown.

Chism told police that he killed Colleen Ritzer because she insulted him with a "trigger" word, but it's not clear what word he claims triggered him. His confession won't be admissible at trial because the judge ruled he may not have been aware of his Miranda rights at the time.

Jury selection begins on Wednesday in Essex Superior Court in Salem, Massachusetts. Chism is charged as an adult with murder. He has pleaded 'not guilty'.

Ref: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...acher.html

[Maggot]

Trigger word? Now that's sounds like a stupid defense. If the world needs to watch their trigger words I fear all is lost.

[Love Child]

I just figured out what is wrong with America,
It isn't guns,
It isn't violence,
It isn't families or parenting
it isn't even government
ITS SCHOOLS!
If we didn't have schools, there would be no shootings at schools.
I can't believe I didn't figure this out before! Probably because I went to a school as a kid.

If people stopped being teachers, they wouldn't have to worry about the words they say, the lessons they teach, if kids stopped going to school they wouldn't have to worry about chewing their bread into the shape of a gun accidentally and getting suspended, or bringing their inventions to school and getting suspended!

Ban the schools!

[username]

I like it, Love Wild.

It's hard for me to understand how someone gets that evil at such a young age.

[Duchess]

Trigger word? Now that's sounds like a stupid defense. If the world needs to watch their trigger words I fear all is lost.

Someone told me recently that some Professors were told (warned) about "trigger words" that could possibly set off students. I thought it was a joke at the time but then I heard about it again. Some are insisting that this is a real thing.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

I think its Stupid and self serving to give assholes a "Trigger Word" and thereby an excuse to act like an asshole

[HairOfTheDog]

Trigger word? Now that's sounds like a stupid defense. If the world needs to watch their trigger words I fear all is lost.

Someone told me recently that some Professors were told (warned) about "trigger words" that could possibly set off students. I thought it was a joke at the time but then I heard about it again. Some are insisting that this is a real thing.

It's an ignorant movement, in my opinion.

My understanding is that it's being driven by increasingly sensitive student bodies, not by teacher's groups and academic organizations/institutions.

College students should be exposed to facts and reality -- the good and the bad -- and encouraged to analyze and form opinions. They should be encouraged to think critically. Emotions are real and important too, but shouldn't dictate education policy, in my opinion.

College students should not be shielded from (or warned about) words that might trigger an emotional response in some. That's life; I feel strongly that forcing teachers to coddle students in higher education environments is counter-productive and bad for the students and society.

Anyway, this is an interesting piece I read recently on the the topic: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arch...nd/399356/

[HairOfTheDog]

Trial Winding Down



Background:
Philip Chism (^left) is charged as a juvenile with aggravated rape and robbery and with murder as an adult. Closing arguments are set to begin tomorrow, Friday.

He has pleaded "not guilty". His defense acknowledges that he murdered his math teacher Colleen Ritzer (^ right) in the school bathroom, but they're arguing that then 14-year-old Chism was mentally impaired at the time.

Colleen Ritzer's body was found in the woods behind the school, naked from the waist down, stabbed sixteen times, and her body had been penetrated by a stick. She'd been robbed of her belongings and underwear. Chism left a note read, "I hate you all" by her body.

Sane or Not?
I don't think the defense has a chance in hell of convincing a jury that Chism didn't know what he was doing or didn't know it was wrong. I think Chism is malingering, as the prosecution contends.

The legal burden is on the prosecution to prove that Chism was not insane at the time of the crimes.

Prosecutors showed the jury surveillance video of Chism following Ritzer into the bathroom, leaving the bathroom, and moving the recycle bin with Ritzer's body into the woods. Chism was looking both ways in a school corridor, pulling up the hood on his sweat shirt, and donning gloves before following Ritzer into the bathroom. He later put on a ski mask. The prosecution empahsized to the jury that this was a clear sign that Chism knew what he was doing and knew that it was wrong.

The prosecution called expert psychiatric witnesses to testify that Chism was sane at the time of the crime. The defense found expert psychiatric witnesses to testify that Chism was, in his opinion, in the throes of a psychotic episode at the time of the crime and was under the command of voices that had become more intense, violent, and insistent in the days preceding the killing.

[HairOfTheDog]

(continued)

Sentencing Possibilities:
Defendants who are found not guilty by reason of insanity are evaluated at a facility for 40 days and subject to possible commitment. He would likely spend years in a mental correctional facility, with the medical professionals having a lot to say on when/if he would be released.

If found guilty, Chism could be sentenced to life without parole or a lesser term. He's too young for death penalty eligibility. But, due to his age, the prosecutors would have to make a compelling case to lock him up for life. In 2012’s Miller v. Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that it violated the Eighth Amendment’s protection from cruel and unusual punishment to automatically sentence someone to life in prison without possibility of parole for a crime committed before the 18^th birthday.

The court needs to have an individual sentencing hearing that takes into account specific factors like the juvenile’s youth, their family situation and educational history, and their prospects for reform or change in the future because the court recognized that juveniles are still changing and still developing. A court can assign the sentence of life without parole, but they have to consider other sentences first.

I hope this kid gets locked up for life, he's a dangerous predator and attacked female facility workers after he was incarcerated.


Refs:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/1...story.html
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/1...story.html