SALEM, Mass. (AP) — The Latest on the sentencing of a Massachusetts teenager convicted of raping and killing his high school math teacher (all times local):
11:30 a.m.
The mother of a Massachusetts high school math teacher killed by one of her students says the death has left her “so very broken.”
Peggie Ritzer was the last of nine people to read victim-impact statements at the sentencing hearing Friday for 17-year-old Philip Chism (CHIHZ’-um). He was 14 when he killed Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer in 2013.
Her father, Tom, said a dad’s job is to fix things, and he would do anything to fix what happened to his daughter.
Colleen Ritzer’s brother and sister, colleagues and lifelong friends described a young woman who loved her job, loved her students, loved life and never had a negative word to say.
Prosecutors have asked the judge to send Chism to prison for 50 years.
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10:30 a.m.
The sentencing hearing for a Massachusetts teenager convicted of raping and killing his high school math teacher is underway.
A judge is expected to sentence 17-year-old Philip Chism (CHIHZ-um) on Friday after hearing nine victim-impact statements from Colleen Ritzer’s family and friends.
Many of them are wearing pink, Ritzer’s favorite color.
Chism was 14 when he killed the 24-year-old Danvers High School teacher in 2013.
His mother, Diane, released a statement Friday expressing her sorrow.
She said her prayers were with the Ritzer family “as they continue their journey to heal.”
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9 a.m.
A Massachusetts teenager convicted of raping and killing his high school math teacher faces a sentence of up to life in prison when a judge hands out his punishment.
Philip Chism (CHIHZ-um) was convicted in December in the 2013 death of Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer. He’s scheduled to be sentenced Friday in Salem Superior Court.
The 17-year-old Chism faces life on the murder charge, but would be eligible for parole after 15 to 25 years because he was 14 at the time of the killing. He also faces lengthy sentences on charges of aggravated rape and robbery. Prosecutors have asked that he stay in prison for at least 50 years.
The defense admitted Chism killed Ritzer but said he was suffering from severe mental illness and wasn’t criminally responsible for his actions.
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(Photo Source: AP)
