Colleen Ritzer (Family photo)
A Boston jury has found a 16-year-old teenager guilty of killing his teacher in 2013.
Philip Chism was charged as an adult for the first-degree murder of teacher Colleen Ritzer. An Essex Superior Court found him guilty on Tuesday.
Ritzer, 24, was slain with a box cutter in a bathroom at Danvers High School in Danvers, Massachusetts, on October 22, 2013. Her body was found days later in nearby woods.
Defense attorney Denise Regan attempted to use an insanity defense this week, but the court found her client competent to stand trial.
“When Philip Chism followed Ms. Ritzer into that bathroom, he was not himself,” Regan said Tuesday, CNN reported. “He didn’t choose to do this.”
Chism showed no emotion as the jury returned its verdict. He was also found guilty of aggravated rape and armed robbery.
“There is not one single person in this courtroom who wants to believe that a 14-year-old-boy could have done this and not be crazy,” prosecutor Kate MacDougall said. “But doing something so awful does not make you crazy.”
A status date in the case is set for December 22.
Philip Chism (Photo: Fox News screenshot)
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