Slain Teacher Asked Student to Stay After for Math Help

Colleen Ritzer was worried Philip Chism wasn't ready for test, says student
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 24, 2013 6:51 PM CDT
Slain Teacher Asked Student to Stay After for Math Help
Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer.   (AP Photo/Courtesy of Dale Webster via the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune)

The Massachusetts high school teacher murdered this week was trying to help her alleged killer prepare for an upcoming algebra test, a student tells the Boston Globe. Colleen Ritzer asked 14-year-old Philip Chism to stay after school on Tuesday, the day she was killed. “She saw him drawing during class and she just said to him, ‘I didn’t know you could draw,'" says a student in the class. “She just said, ‘Can you stay after with me?’ He just gave a nod. ... There was a test coming up, and she wanted to know if he had any questions on learning equations."

Another student says she saw the two of them in the classroom more than an hour after class ended, Ritzer standing by her computer and Chism sitting. "It just looked normal." Police still haven't speculated about a motive, notes AP. Chism has reportedly told police that he followed Ritzer into a bathroom and killed her with a box cutter. "He just presented himself to us like any other student would," says a Danvers High School official. "And that's what I think is so hard for the administration right now. You know, their hearts are breaking because they just didn't know he was in need, if he was in need." (More Colleen Ritzer stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X