The family and friends of Colleen Ritzer, a teacher who was raped and killed by one of her teenage students at Danvers High School in 2013, are asking people to perform an act of kindness in her memory.
Tuesday marked the 11-year anniversary of the murder of Ritzer, a math teacher, who was killed inside Danvers High School. She was 24 at the time.
Philip Chism, now 25, of Danvers, was just 14 years old when he strangled Ritzer, his algebra teacher, and repeatedly stabbed her with a box cutter in a Danvers High bathroom on Oct. 22, 2013. He then used a recycling bin to bring her body into nearby woods.
“11 years ago today, the world lost a caring, energetic and passionate young woman. As we continue to mourn the loss of this extraordinary daughter, sister, friend and teacher, we also look to honor who she was - a positive and kind individual. Today, we remember Colleen’s life and honor her legacy of kindness and passion for teaching by being the good in someone’s day,” her loved ones wrote on an Instagram post on Tuesday.
Community in Andover celebrating the life and legacy of Colleen Ritzer
During closing arguments in his rape and murder trial, prosecutors stated that Ritzer was “stripped, battered, brutalized, and violated.” Chism, of Danvers, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2016 in connection with Ritzer’s death.
In April, Chism pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a separate “horrific and terrifying” assault case, where he attacked and seriously injured a Department of Youth Services worker on June 2, 2014.
Prosecutors said in April that Chism, who was 15 at the time of the 2014 assault, eluded staff at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Dorchester and followed the female clinician into a bathroom area, where he trapped, choked, beat, and attacked her with a sharpened pencil.
The victim who survived the 2014 attack, which also happened in a bathroom, called Chism a “monster” in her victim impact statement, as read by a prosecutor in April.
Family of murdered Danvers teacher Colleen Ritzer reach civil suit agreement with security system
“Following this horrific and terrifying event, I remembered the bruises across my face, around my body, and my neck,” the prosecutor read from the statement. “His face still haunts me, that lack of emotion, just ready to kill...True monsters exist in this world. Philip Chism is a monster.”
Ritzer, known for always having a smile on her face, loved to teach and loved life. She graduated from Assumption College in 2011 and was a standout student at Andover High School, graduating in 2007.
Since her death, numerous events have been held to honor Ritzer, a beloved teacher from Andover.
Her hometown holds an annual “Step up for Colleen 5-K” run and walk in Central Park, with thousands gathering each year to celebrate her life for that event.
A charity, the Colleen Ritzer Memorial Fund, was founded after her death. The fund awards hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and scholarships to future teachers.
“Thank you for helping to carry on Colleen’s legacy of kindness,” the Instagram post honoring her memory said Tuesday.
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