'Math Mentor Killed with a Box Cutter'

A 14-year-old Danvers High School freshman ducked into a darkened movie theater for a matinee of the new Woody Allen movie after authorities say he murdered his popular math teacher and dumped her body in the woods, a law-enforcement source said.

The theater manager said Chism “blended right in.” “He was here and gone before we even knew he was here,” manager Scott Przybycien told the Herald.

Chism was found at 12:30 a.m. yesterday while walking north on southbound Route 1 near Salem Road in Topsfield — about six miles by foot from the theater. A law-enforcement source said authorities believe Chism attacked Ritzer with a box cutter. The source said the boy was seen on school security video pushing a large recycling bin, which authorities believe he used to take her body outside.

Police found Ritzer’s body near the school, where they went to look for her after family reported her missing at 11:17 p.m. Tuesday. Cops found blood in a second-floor bathroom inside the school.

Chism’s arrest marked a horrifying turn of events for Danvers High School staff and students. They’d gone to bed Tuesday night worried about Chism after the missing-person alert was put out, only to awake yesterday and find he was accused of killing the beloved teacher.“It was like, hashtag find Phil, and then everyone just turned,” said Veatch, referring to the social-media effort to locate Chism Tuesday night. “Now everyone’s saying, ‘I can’t believe I talked to a murderer.’ ”

Boston Herald