SALEM, Mass. — A Massachusetts teenager who was 14 when he raped and killed his math teacher has been sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 25 years.
Seventeen-year-old Philp Chism was sentenced Friday in Salem Superior Court in the slaying of Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer in 2013.
The judge pronounced the sentence after hearing victim-impact statements from Ritzer’s parents, siblings and colleagues. Many of them wore pink, her favorite color.
Prosecutors had asked that Chism be sentenced to life at least 50 years in prison — consecutive sentences of life with the possibility of parole in 25 years on the rape and murder charges.
Chism’s attorneys asked that their client be given concurrent sentences and be eligible for parole at age 40.
