Danvers High Teacher Murdered, Body Found in Woods Behind School

Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett confirmed Wednesday morning that a Danvers High teacher was murdered and her body was found in the woods behind the school Tuesday night.

The victim was identified as Colleen Ritzer, 24, of Andover. Blodgett, speaking at a press conference at the high school, did not indicate what sort of weapon Ritzer might have been killed with.

A 14-year-old male was arrested and will be arraigned on a murder charge in Salem Juvenile Court at some point on Wednesday. That hearing will be closed to the public. Blodgett said authorities don't have any reason to believe there are other suspects involved.

Blodgett said state law prohibits prosecutors from releasing the name of the juvenile suspect or too many details in the case, including whether or not he was in fact a student at Danvers High.

The investigation is ongoing and all Danvers Public Schools will remain closed until further notice. They were initially closed on Wednesday.

Blodgett didn't have much information to share about Ritzer other than to say he understood she was a well respected and loved teacher. According to an online staff director, she taught math at Danvers High.

"This was a terrible tragedy for Colleen Ritzer and the entire Danvers community," he said.

Blodgett said the case all started with a report of a missing teenager who had not returned home from Danvers High by Tuesday evening.

Danvers police issued a public alert along with a photo around 10 p.m., saying Philip Chism, 14, of Danvers, was last seen around 6:30 p.m. at Hollywood Hits Cinema. Police said he just moved to town from Tennessee.

Meanwhile, police received a call around 11:20 p.m. regarding a missing female Danvers High teacher who never returned home that evening and wasn’t answering her cell phone.

Blodgett said officers checked the high school and found blood in a second-floor bathroom. The school was immediately secured.

Officers were assisted by other agencies then in scouring the woods behind the school and eventually found Ritzer’s body. Blodgett said that through the course of the joint investigation "it was apparent that she was a homicide victim."

It was around 12:30 a.m. when Topsfield police reported spotting a male who matched the description of the missing teenager walking north along Route 1. He was then taken back to the Danvers police station and placed under arrest.

Blodgett said state law protecting juveniles also prevents him from confirming or denying whether the missing person and the juvenile murder suspect are the same person.

He said his office is considering trying the juvenile as an adult and further details will be released at some point on Wednesday.

None of the other local officials gathered for that morning’s press conference spoke publicly. Blodgett said further information will also be released later in regard to when schools might reopen or any security and safety issues that need to be addressed.

According to a Facebook post, a vigil will be held Wednesday night (8 p.m.) at Danvers High.