Colleen Ritzer murder case: Philip Chism attempts to strangle detention guard
A Massachusetts teen facing charges as an adult for murdering one of his high school teachers, reportedly attempted to strangle a female staffer at the detention center where h’s being held.
The teen murderer of Colleen Ritzer now faces charges for assaulting a woman at his detention center
CBS detailed new events surrounding Philip Chism, 15, at the Metro Youth Services facility in Dorchester, Mass. The teen was formally charged last week with “attempted murder by strangulation, assault with intent to murder, kidnapping, and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.”
The Suffolk District Attorney’s office said Chism followed the Youth Services staffer into a bathroom and assaulted her before co-workers heard the woman’s cries for help and intervened.
“Co-workers heard her cries for help and interrupted the assault,” the district attorney’s office said.
A spokesman for Sheriff Cousins, Assistant Superintendent Maurice Pratt, said Thursday that Chism will not be returning to the facility in Dorchester where the alleged assault took place.
“The [Dorchester] facility was not a locked-down facility,’’ Pratt said. “This one is.’’
Pratt said the sheriff’s office has confidence in DYS staff. “They have very capable people that are used to handling the type of people that need to be in a secure facility,’’ Pratt said.
Philip Chism
Chism pleaded not guilty back in December to the murder, aggravated rape and armed robbery charges of high school math teacher Colleen Ritzer. Ritzer, 24, was found dead in the woods near the school with her throat slit and a note, which read, “I hate you all.”
Ritzer’s body was partially nude and found inside of a recycling bin. That bin had been wheeled into the woods and discovered in a bed of leaves.
Chism reportedly used a box cutter to carry out the assault and went to the movies afterwards. Court documents from the suspect’s arraignment say prosecutors have surveillance video of the teacher going into the bathroom. Five minutes later, the suspect went into that bathroom.
The boy was arrested without incident, walking down the street.
A judge ruled that Chism would be treated as an adult.
CBS Boston reports the youthful offender indictment in the alleged assault opens Chism’s case to the public and exposes him to penalties up to and including those faced by adult defendants if convicted, according to the district attorney’s office.
