Crime & Safety
Family, Friends Will Gather to Mourn Slain Teacher at Andover Church
Services are scheduled for Sunday and Monday in Colleen Ritzer's hometown of Andover for family and friends to pay their final respects.
By John Castelluccio, Bryan McGonigle, Owen Boss and Chris Helms
DANVERS, Mass. — Family and friends will gather in Andover Sunday and Monday to pay their final respects to Colleen Ritzer. Both a wake Sunday and funeral on Monday will be held at St. Augustine Church in Ritzer's hometown.
Students and staff at Danvers High School also finally returned to classes on Friday, three days after the 24-year-old math teacher was murdered at the school. Ritzer was in her second year of teaching at Danvers High.
Local officials said Thursday night the main goal was to try to regain a sense of normalcy in the wake such tragedy.
The teenage student accused of murdering his teacher and dumping her body on the school grounds will be held without bail.
Philip Daniel Chism, 14, is charged with first-degree murder and will be tried as an adult. Chism pleaded not guilty in Salem District Court on Wednesday.
Ritzer's body was found in the woods behind the high school Tuesday night, according to District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.
Police began searching for Ritzer after a call came in at 11:20 p.m. Tuesday saying she hadn't come home and wasn't answering her cell phone. Authorities found blood in a second-floor bathroom at the high school, sparking a wider search.
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.
Those who knew Ritzer described her as having "grace and compassion beyond her years." Her students have joined the outpouring of grief for their teacher. On Wednesday night, students and parents and faculty gathered for a vigil in honor of Ritzer.
Here, in reverse chronological order, are all our posts on this subject.
Follow Danvers Patch on Twitter at @DanversPatch for the latest.
- Mother of Teen Murder Suspect Heartbroken and Struggling to Understand
- Expert: Law on Juvenile Murder Suspects is in Flux
- Thousands Gather to Mourn Colleen Ritzer
- Two Scholarship Funds Now Established in Memory of Slain Teacher
- Funeral Services Announced for Colleen Ritzer
- Judge Seals Court Documents Related to Search Warrant in Murder Case
- Colleen Ritzer Scholarship Fund Set Up at People's United Bank
- Danvers Mom Says Despite School Violence and Tragedy, 'Most Kids Are Good'
- Goal is to Return to 'Some Sort of Normalcy' at Danvers High
- Classmate Says Ritzer Asked Chism to Stay After Class to Go Over Exam
- Student Used Box Cutter to Kill Teacher
- Danvers High Opens Doors for Grieving Students, Staff and Parents
- WATCH: Danvers Turns Out to Remember Slain Teacher
- Grades K-8 Return to School Thursday, No Decision Yet for High School
- Students Hold Vigil for Slain Teacher
- DA Confirms Teen Was Student of Victim
- Town Cancels Dedication of New Danvers High This Saturday
- Teen Pleads Not Guilty to Murder, May Undergo Mental Health Evaluation
- Vigils, Prayer Wednesday to Reflect on Tragedy and Remember Teacher
- Slain Teacher Had "Grace, Compassion Beyond Her Years"
- Teen Suspect in Teacher Slaying Held Without Bail
- Slain Teacher Remembered By Students for Joy, Bright Smiles at School
- High School Remains Closed to Public as Investigation Continues
- Danvers High Teacher Murdered, Body Found in Woods Behind School
- 14-Year-Old Murder Suspect to be Arraigned in Salem Juvenile Court
- Missing Danvers Teen Found Safely
- DA's Office Says Case Now a Homicide Investigation
- Danvers Schools Closed Wednesday as Police Investigate Case of Missing Teen
- Police Searching for Missing Danvers Teen
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