Prosecutors Say 14-Year-Old Student Killed Teacher With Box Cutter

As students mourn the loss of beloved teacher Colleen Ritzer, INSIDE EDITION is learning more about the student accused of killing her.

The accused killer of a popular high school math teacher went to the movies after the brutal killing, police say.

Fourteen-year-old Philip Chism saw Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine at a movie theater in Danvers, Massachusetts just three miles from the school where he allegedly killed teacher Colleen Ritzer.

A moving candlelight vigil for the beloved math teacher was held at the at the school. Many of her students wore pink, her favorite color, and struggled to come to terms with her death.

There was also a moment of silence in her memory before Game 1 of the World Series at Boston's Fenway Park.

Now, we're learning more shocking details of the murder of the beloved math teacher.


Prosecutors say Philip Chism, who has pled not guilty, stole a box cutter from the art department, followed her down the hallway, then dragged her into a bathroom and slashed her throat.  Prosecutors say he put the body in a recycling bin and wheeled it to a wooded area in the back of the high school, all caught on surveillance cameras.  

Police believe Chism may have been infatuated with the attractive 24-year-old teacher.

Chism's mother was helped out of the court with her head bowed after her son was arraigned.

Colleen was caring and compassionate. Her bucket list is posted on Pinterest. She wanted to experience Christmas in New York, go parasailing, and most poignantly, "marry the love of my life." Experiences that Colleen will never have.