Prosecutors Expect Grand Jury Indictment This Week in Ritzer Case

Prosecutors expect to have an indictment later this week against Philip Chism, the 14-year-old Danvers student accused of murdering his math teacher Colleen Ritzer last month.

The grand jury is still deliberating possible charges as the district attorney's office argues to move the case from district to superior court, where Chism would be tried as an adult.

DA spokesperson Carrie Kimball-Monahan said this week that decision should still be made prior to a probable cause hearing scheduled for Nov. 22 in district court.

The Salem News reports Chism's appearance for Friday's hearing was actually waived on Monday, however, by Judge Matthew Machera, who approved a request from Chism's public defense attorney Denise Regan.

The paper reports prosecutors have also turned over some of their evidence to Regan, including a recording of Chism's interrogation, interviews with his mother, police reports, surveillance footage from the AMC Loews Theatre (Chism reportedly went there as well as Hollywood Hits after the murder) and photos of some sort of cleaning device from the high school.

As for those sealed court records, until recently even Regan hadn't seen them. The Salem News reports Regan had another motion approved by Machera Monday, however, to allow her access to the impounded documents.

The documents are related to a search warrant for Chism's home, and among other things, contain the names of juvenile witnesses to relevant facts in the case.