Update, 2:25 p.m.: Seventeen-year-old Philp Chism, who was 14 when he raped and killed his math teacher, has been sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 25 years.
Chism was sentenced Friday in Salem Superior Court in the slaying of Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer in 2013.
The judge pronounced the sentence after hearing victim-impact statements from Ritzer's parents, siblings and colleagues. Many of them wore pink, her favorite color.
Prosecutors had asked that Chism be sentenced to life at least 50 years in prison — consecutive sentences of life with the possibility of parole in 25 years on the rape and murder charges.
Chism's attorneys asked that their client be given concurrent sentences and be eligible for parole at age 40.
—The Associated Press
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Original story: Danvers teen Philip Chism returned to a Salem courtroom today to be sentenced for murdering and raping his teacher, Colleen Ritzer. Witnesses cried as they recounted the impact of her death.
Ritzer’s friends and family wore shades of pink, in her honor. Chism’s defense attorney, Denise Regan, objected to that display, but Judge David Lowy said it would have no impact. Ritzer’s immediate family took the stand together, and her mother, Peggie Ritzer, asked the judge to send Chism to prison for as long as possible.
"He is pure evil," she said. "You need to think of our family's safety. Colleen will never get a second chance and neither should he."
The Ritzers and other witnesses described the additional burden of intense media attention. A Danvers High teacher said after Ritzer's death, students lived in fear. They stopped using the bathrooms, she said, and panicked when they found themselves alone in a part of the school.
—Rupa Shenoy
