29: Killer in the Classroom: How a Tutoring Session Ended in Murder | Colleen Ritzer

It was October of 2013 when Colleen was killed by a 14-year-old student inside the school where she worked. The thought that something so awful could have happened, never even crossed our minds. In some ways, it feels like yesterday and others, it feels like forever. The pathologist, who performed her autopsy, showing a diagram of 16 knife wounds. He does not deserve to have a life outside of those prison walls. In 2013, the town of Danvers, Massachusetts, was rocked by one of the most devastating crimes in its entire history. Colleen Ritzer, a young and beloved teacher, was found not only murdered, but sexually brutalized in ways that are honestly difficult to even wrap your head around. It was absolutely horrifying, but the most mind-boggling part of this case wasn't just how brutal the crime was, but it was also the person responsible because the perpetrator was only 14 years old. A man, actually a boy, a student, named Philip Chism, would just think about that for a second. Someone too young to even have a learner's permit, committing a crime so horrific, and not only the crime, but it was all caught on CCTV. Now, right away, people immediately started asking what the hell could possibly drive a teenager to do something like this. Did Colleen and Philip have some sort of teacher student conflict? Was there a bad relationship in the classroom some sort of hidden drama? But the answer? Nope. Not at all. In fact, Colleen was known as being incredibly kind and a very generous teacher, the kind of teacher who gave up her time to stay after school to help her students, and she was known as someone who just genuinely cared about all of the kids in the classroom. According to the defense, Philip did all of this because there were voices in his head that told him to, which is crazy enough on its own, but what makes it even more disgusting is what Philip did afterward. Because he celebrated his accomplishments, his achievements of horrifically tormenting and torturing Colleen by stopping at a local Wendy's to grab a cheeseburger to have a bite to eat to refuel. I mean, it is absolutely foul. Now, I'm not going to lie. Every time I remember that detail in this case, it kind of ruins Wendy's for me, but it also just makes me sick to my stomach. And I covered this case in its entirety back in 2023, the full story of Colleen's life, the tragedy of her murder and Philip's trial, and now it has been 10 years since Philip's sentencing, which makes this the perfect time to reopen this case. And there's another reason where reopening it as well. When we first covered this story, there was still a big question mark that was hanging over everything. At the time, Philip was still tied up in legal proceedings for a vicious attack on a youth services worker at the time, which that case has since wrapped up, and now we finally know how disturbing that chapter ended as well. So today, we are officially going to reopen this case. Now, if you have listened to our reopened episodes before, you already know the drill, but let me go ahead and repeat myself. We're going to walk through the original deep dive so that you get the full background, but then I'm also going to be weaving in all of the new updates along the way. Also, sometimes in which I've changed my opinion or maybe have like a different perspective on things. So through all of that, you're going to see the old Annie on screen. If you're watching the video version of this, if you're listening to the audio version, you'll hear the old Annie through your speakers. Because back then, we also had different equipment, things have shifted. There's been a little bit of changes in the sound quality here and there. So don't worry, nothing's wrong. It's just because we're piecing it together. I also originally covered this case as my very first episode of my other true crime podcast, serialously. So you may notice too if you're watching the video version of this, the old set design, all of that stuff, but as always, our goal is the same. Take this older case that we have talked about before, revisit it with fresh eyes and bring you all of the latest updates. So with that said, we definitely have a lot to get into today and trust me. This one is absolutely shocking. And if you're listening to the audio version of this, you may want to rewatch it on YouTube after the fact because the footage, it is enough to make the hair on your arms just completely stand up. I'm talking about watching what happened with his, his mom changing his clothes, wheeling things in and out of the school. It is so upsetting. So if you're watching this on YouTube, smash that like button, hit the subscribe button. Because today we are reopening the case of Colleen Ritzer and Philip Chisholm. I'm Annie Elise and let's jump right in. So in 2014, 14-year-old Philip Chisholm had just moved to Danvers. Danvers is a very small town in Northeastern Massachusetts and he moved there from Tennessee with his mom. And two younger sisters. Philip's parents were divorced, which his mom Diana had said was extremely difficult. And after the divorce, she didn't really have anywhere to go. She had no other options but to move from Tennessee to Massachusetts. Diana's aunt lived in an apartment in Danvers and told Diana that she and the kids could of course come and live with her. So Philip and his family moved to Danvers. They attended church in that small town. He made a few small friends in his youth group and in the fall of 2013, Philip started school at Danvers High School. He was a very good soccer player played on the JV team for Danvers High School. But other than his soccer teammates, he wasn't really well known in the school. He didn't really have a whole lot of friends. And I think that's pretty typical for new kids. I mean, being the new kid really does suck always. And so he didn't have many friends except his soccer buddies and that's kind of who he clung to. So on October 22, 2013, around 6.30 p.m., Diana, Philip's mom contacted the Danvers Police Department. She contacted them to report that her son Philip had not come home from school after soccer practice. She said that she went to the school and the athletic facility. And he was not anywhere to be seen. He was not there. But his teammates said that Philip had mysteriously vanished and actually completely missed practice at 4 p.m. The last time they saw him, they say he was running away from the soccer field in the complete opposite direction. So, after calling the police, Diana went down to the station and filed a missing persons report. While there, she gave the police Philip's phone number, hoping that they'd be able to ping him, to track him, to figure out where he had gone and what his location was. And luckily, they did, in fact, get a hit. The most recent ping location was earlier that afternoon at 4.28 p.m., it pinged near a movie theater called The Hollywood Hits Theater in small town Danver. So, Danver police go to this movie theater to conduct a campus surge, where they learned that Philip did, in fact, buy a movie ticket, watched the movie, and then left. But after that, they weren't able to find any phone pings. They couldn't trace his whereabouts after that. They didn't know his location and none of this made any sense to Diana, his mom. Because it was so unlike Philip to just not come home, to skip soccer practice, which he loved playing soccer, that's where all of his buddies were, then not to contact her, let her know where he was, where he was going. So, Diana was feeling like something was really wrong, and she was getting really unsettled by all of this. So, that night, Danver's police used all sorts of social media avenues, Facebook, Twitter, you know, all of these things to get the word out about this 14-year-old kid who was missing from Danver's. The last they had heard from the teammates was that he was running the opposite direction on the soccer field, his phone wasn't pinging, it was unlike him, he went to the movies which was super weird on a school day, nothing was making sense. So, they wanted to get the word out about Philip's disappearance, also give out his description and alert these surrounding cities and the surrounding towns. Now, this is where the story gets crazy, and I am talking crazy. Once the news spread, Danver's high school principal Sue Ambroseovich sent out a mass email to all of the school staff around 9pm, letting everybody know that Philip was missing, and after this mass email went out, the principal received a phone call from a woman named Sarah, she was a math teacher at Danver's high school, and this math teacher Sarah told the principal that she received a call from another math teacher named Colleen's parents, Tom and Peggy, and Tom and Peggy told Sarah that their daughter Colleen, also a math teacher, follow me here guys, follow me here guys, that she didn't come home from school that day, and they believed that she too was missing. So, you have these worried parents, Tom and Peggy, and they are calling a fellow friend and math teacher of their daughter Colleen, and they're like, "Hey, Sarah, Colleen didn't come home from school today, wondering if there were any after-school activities, have you seen her, have you heard from her, were getting worried?" So then, as Sarah's at home, she's like, "No, I haven't seen her, but I'll let you know if I hear anything." She gets this email from the principal saying, "Hey, there's a student missing." She's like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, so what are the light? What's the likelihood that two people from our school are missing?" And so she calls the principal to say, like, "Hey, weird, you're saying that about Philip because I also got this call from Colleen's parents and Colleen's missing as well." So where were Philip and Colleen? I mean, what are the odds that a student and a teacher were completely missing from school that day? Did something various happen? Was there maybe a love-trist going on via lifetime movie? Nobody knew what was happening, and I don't know the likelihood of two people actually going missing from the same high school at the exact same time, and it not being connected, but I'm guessing pretty, pretty low. So let's talk a little bit about who Colleen is. Colleen's a 24-year-old girl who was a very popular 9th grade algebra teacher, and she worked at. high school in Danvers. This was her second year of teaching, and according to her family, as early as three years old, Colleen realized her love for helping others. And she realized this and had this epiphany as she was watching her own preschool teacher open up her students' minds to the world of learning. So this apparently just innately planted a seed within Colleen that eventually blossomed into a love for teaching. As a teacher, Colleen realized very quickly the impact that a teacher could have on her students. And she was not only gifted as a math teacher, but also was a huge source of inspiration to others, living by the words that every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day. Students were greeted every single day by Colleen with her beautiful and welcoming smile, followed by an inspirational quote or a picture of the day at the beginning of each class, trying to get everybody in the right frame of mind just very happy to start the day. She loved her role as a teacher and being able to be a source of inspiration for these young impressionable students. But outside of that, for her personal fulfillment, she just loved her family and friends, and she really valued that. She valued being a sister, a cousin, a best friend, a daughter, everything like that. So then when Colleen didn't arrive back home by 330 or 4pm, it of course threw up a huge red flag to her family. This was not like her at all, so her mom and her sister were very, very concerned. And they thought that maybe she had plans that she didn't tell them about. But as the night went on, their concerns grew and grew and grew. So that's when they called Sarah, the other math teacher, and also one of Colleen's friends to see if she had heard anything. So, Colleen's now missing, and Philip is obviously still missing. So let's go back to Philip. Just a few hours after he was reported as missing, around 12.30am. Toppsfield police were called about pedestrian walking alongside the highway, walking in the wrong direction. The police found this person, and the responding officer, Neil Hovey, realized that the individual walking was that missing teenager from Danvers. Philip Chisholm. Great news, right? This little kid, this 14 year old kid was missing. It's now only been a few hours. He hasn't been abducted. He isn't lying dead on the side of the road. He's here. He's alive. He's walking, although on the opposite direction, but great news, right? Not right. Not right at all. So when officers first saw Philip, they noticed that he had a ski mask pulled down around his neck, which initially didn't seem all that weird because it was late October in Massachusetts, and it was freezing outside. But he told officer Hovey that he was coming from Tennessee, and he said that he was going nowhere. That is a direct quote. He also said he didn't have an address, and that in his backpack he had a bunch of survival gear. So this officer did a very quick pat down on Philip, just for safety reasons, and he discovered that there was a rock in one of his pockets and also a credit card. The credit card had a woman's name on it, Colleen Ritzer. But the name didn't mean anything to the officer at the time because no reports had been put out about Colleen as missing, and nobody had connected those dots yet. Philip said that he got the credit cards at a stop and shop convenience store. But this officer saw the Sunday aged kid situation that wasn't really feeling right, so he put him in the back of the police cruiser so that he could warm up and then he took him to the police station so they could figure out what the heck was going on. While they were at the police station, the officers at the station made a very disturbing discovery when they asked Philip about the backpack that he was carrying with him with that survivalist gear. An officer asked him, "Is there anything in here that can hurt me?" And Philip responded, "Yes." Inside the backpack, he found a blood-stained box cutter, so he asked where did the blood come from that's on this. And he said, "The girl." And then the officer asked, "Where's the girl?" Philip said in the woods. Okay, this isn't going well. So then the officer asks, "If we can find her, can we help her?" And Philip in a very chilling way says, "No." And that wasn't all that they found in the backpack. They also found blueish, greenish, women's underwear. Not good. Not good. After Colleen's parents, the principal and a few others had gone to the school earlier that evening to look for Colleen, another teacher had come to help. This was another math teacher. It's like this band of bandits with math teachers here. And his name's Todd Buttersworth. Colleen apparently often babysat his one-year-old daughter. And while searching for Colleen, Todd found a school bag wedged in between boulders at the edge of the woods near the school. At first, he thought that the bag maybe had rust on it or some sort of substance like that. But instead, it was actually blood. So Todd decided to go a little further into the woods, but immediately stopped in his tracks when he stumbled upon a pair of white, bloody gloves. And he then immediately notified the police, basically raising his hand and saying, "You know, I found something." Officer Stephanie Wentenberger was the first cop on the scene to help in this search for poor Colleen. While inside the school, she searched in the bathrooms next to Colleen's classroom, but noticed that it was very recently cleaned and also smelled like disinfectant. However, around the waist level of the wall was a reddish handprint with streaks. So this officer once notified of the school bag that the math teacher Todd had found began searching in the woods next to where the bag was found, where she found paper, shreds of clothing, two blue and white underarmor gloves covered in blood and other evidence kind of scattered about. Now, this was extremely alarming and officers now realized the gravity of the situation. Officer Elenton and his cadaver dog Falco were called in to help investigate further. Falco pulled Officer Elenton into the woods and then drew him to an area where he saw a gray blood-soaked sneaker. Falco also found a pair of soccer cleats and ladies shoes underneath leaves. There was clothing strewn about in the area, some hanging on branches, some on the ground, and some were bloody. Then Falco went even higher up the hill and dove into a goalie where there was a large green recycling bin lying on its side, like one of those big ones that you put out on Mondays for Trash. So officers blocked off a six by ten square foot area of the woods, which contained blood, leaves, sticks, and it almost looked like a gravesite, like it was a square that was cut out of the ground right there. And as police searched further, one of the officers at the scene pointed out a human toe with pink toenail polish on it, poking out from underneath the leaves. The officers continued to process what was now, obviously, an official crime scene, and they began to uncover a body under those leaves, which was identified as Colleen. Colleen was found lying on her back, covered in leaves in a way that was so obvious that whoever did this intended to conceal her body. Her throat was slit, and the slash wounds on her neck were so deep that her vertebrae was chipped. Her shirt was lifted above her breasts, and her bra was pulled down below, leaving them exposed. She was also naked from the waist down. They were red and brown blood stains on her face and her torso, and her legs were spread apart and slightly bent in a sexually staged manner. There was also a three foot long and one inch in diameter tree branch that was inserted inside her vagina. Apparently, there was also next to her body a hand written note that said, "I hate you all." This scene was so disturbing that members of law enforcement later teared up anytime they had to recount what they witnessed and what that scene looked like, just absolutely horrifying. Later, the medical examiner collected male fluid that was inside Colleen and found that she was stabbed at least 16 times in the neck, 16 times. Her official cause of death was expixiation and stabbing. Also found near her body were a pair of black pants, a pair of jeans, a red sweatshirt, black socks, and men's boxer briefs that were stained with red and brown. They also found another backpack with red and brown stains on it along with a student ID. Can you guess who that student ID belonged to? Philip Chism. Now, one of the things that make this story even more crazy, 90 percent of this crime is caught on camera, 90 percent, 90 percent. So either completely unbeknownst to Philip or he just didn't care, the school had recently installed 140 surveillance cameras throughout their entire campus. So everything was about to blow up in Philip's face. Dan Moore's police reviewed the security footage from the high school CCTVs the very next day, and the police created a minute-by-minute account of everything that happened that afternoon, and what they found was so unbelievably damning. Let's start at the beginning of that afternoon. And before we get into that, let me just give you a little backstory here. Colleen was in a group of teachers called the freshman team, and this team kept an eye on that year's freshman class to see how they were adjusting the high school just overall. Then, after class, there was a period where teachers would make themselves available to students who needed extra help. And that's exactly what Colleen was doing on this afternoon, on October 22nd, and there were only two students that stayed after school in Colleen's classroom. Philip and a female student. Now, I'm going to play this video for you. If you're listening to the podcast version, you can pop over to YouTube if you want to watch the surveillance footage, but I'm going to describe to you what's happening here. Colleen is seen leaving her classroom, then entering a faculty bathroom. Then you see Philip peeking out of the classroom, maybe thinking that he's not going to follow her, then he comes back out, pulls up his hood, and you can see Philip following along and looking like he's putting on gloves, then walking into that same bathroom. Philip was in the bathroom attacking Colleen for 11 minutes. Then you see a female student open up the bathroom door and quickly turn around. She opened the door and apparently just saw naked butt and kind of gotten barest that she walked in on somebody using the bathroom. She didn't see Colleen though. So after that, that must have spooked Philip, because Philip immediately leaves after that. Then you can see Philip walking down the hallway holding something. He goes into the stairwell, still has his hood up, and he's now on the first floor. Here you can see his hand. It's completely red as he's walking through the hallway. Then the next time he's on surveillance, you can see Philip in the school parking lot. This is where it's believed he was crouching in the bushes and looking around to see if somebody was watching, as he starts to change his clothes. Philip is now in a white shirt. He passes a teacher and runs back up to the second floor back to Colleen's classroom. Next, he grabs all of Colleen's belongings and his stuff and walks down the hall. Before he is seen walking down the stairs, he now has a red sweatshirt kind of laid over his head to conceal his identity. And the next time he comes back up the stairs, he is wearing a full black ski mask. And he puts on his red sweatshirt before he runs down the hallway. Now, for some reason in between that, he took off the mask, and I'm not sure why. But next, you can see him in the hallway running from another student with a soccer ball. And the students kind of like, "Hey, what are you doing? But Philip keeps running." Next, you can see Philip running down the stairs again. But this time when he returns, he has a green recycle bin, and he wheels it up to the second floor and then into the bathroom. From there, he takes the red sweatshirt off, puts the mask back on, and wheels Colleen down the elevator and out of the building. Next, he is outside, wheeling the recycling bin toward the woods, kind of struggling with the weight of it because Colleen's inside. And after seven minutes, he's back on camera, wheeling the recycle bin back, and you can tell now that the bin is way lighter than it was before. When Philip starts to walk closer to the camera, you can see that he's no longer wearing shoes as he walks back into the school. By the time he makes it to the stairs and back to the second floor, you can see blood on Philip's jeans and can now clearly see that he is barefoot. He goes back down the hall, walking very slowly at first, and then rushes into a different bathroom where he changes into a soccer clothes, but is still not wearing shoes. Then he goes back to the bathroom where he attacked Colleen one more time before heading down the stairs and outside of the school, like nothing ever happened. Now, there is so much of this that is crazy to me, because whether he knew or not that there were cameras installed in the school, the fact that he so casually is just cruisin' into the school with a green, like, huge-ass recycling bin wheeling it onto the second floor, then wheeling it around, like, doesn't he think, not even thinking the cameras are taking those into account, but doesn't he think like, oh shit, isn't somebody gonna see me? There's other faculty at the school still, there might be other students, there clearly are other students. Aren't they gonna say, like, hey Philip, yo, why are you wheeling that huge recycling bin in here? What are you doing? Like, this is definitely not discrete, not discrete at all, and in my opinion, not, you know, well thought out. So, it's believed that Colleen actually may have been partially alive while she was being transported in that bin. So, he comes back to school, he cleans up, he changes, he's dumped her body now at this point. So, immediately after this horrific murder and assault, Philip used Colleen's credit cards, and he used them to buy a cheeseburger at Wendy's, and then go to that theater and watch a Woody Allen movie before the police found him that night after midnight. This kid was so vicious and calculated that not only did he just kill this beautiful 24-year-old teacher who was trying to help him and other students and did God knows what, which we'll get to more in the bathroom, but then he takes her credit cards, he's like, "Hey, I'm going to go chief a cheeseburger at Wendy's and go see a movie." And, Ackley, and I'm going to use her card to pay for all of that. Like, what in the hell? So, Philip was ultimately charged with two counts of RAPE, armed robbery, and first degree murder, and he was charged as an adult at just 14 years old. So, now, let's get into what on earth could possibly possess a seemingly average teenager to commit a crime so heinous against his own teacher. Right before Philip ambushed Colleen in the restroom, there was another student in that classroom with him at this, you know, after class meeting or whatever you would call it. And this student witnessed a conversation where Colleen asked Philip how Danvers was different from Tennessee where he had lived previously and asked him how he liked the change. And the student said that she sensed that Phillips was irritated with this line of questioning, but said that Colleen didn't notice at first that he was irritated. But then when she did, she moved on to another topic. Now, Philip's defense team later argued that Tennessee was the trigger word for him. That's why he decided to assault and murder his teacher, because she said the word "tenancy." If your jaw's on the floor right now being like, "Uh, hi, that makes no freaking sense, Annie. You are right, and let's talk more about that." So, to me this video that we saw in the surveillance footage, which I also described to you here, shows that there's no way that this was a rage killing, all because he was insulted by a question that Colleen asked him, and that, you know, Tennessee was so triggering for him that he had no choice but to assault and murder her. Because the fact that he brought gloves, a box cutter, and extra change of clothes, all of that to school, to me, clearly shows premeditation. Then afterwards, he was attempting to evade being caught with the gloves, the hoodie, all of it, and had a ski mask pulled over. I mean, clearly this was something that had either been planned or he thought he was going to hurt somebody. And it just happened to be Colleen because maybe his rage started to bubble. Now, as I mentioned in the beginning of this story, Philip had just moved from Clarksville, Tennessee, in July, about two and a half months before this murder took place. According to neighbors, Philip was traumatized by this move, and had been maintaining hope that his mother would change her mind, even as she drove him in his sister North in the van. The Boston Globe reported that Philip was very well known around his Clarksville neighborhood, had a ton of friends, and could often be found playing soccer, or basketball, or riding around on his skateboard, and a former girlfriend of Philip's. 14-year-old Hannah Walker spoke out and told the media that she and Philip became friends in the sixth grade. She said that they became close over a period of a year, and that they walked home together regularly every single day. It's sad I get it, that he had to move away from Tennessee. And I'm not trying to be like Callis and say, I don't have any empathy for him with that, like I get it. Being the new kid sucks, especially when you're going into some of those important teenage years, you're being ripped away from all of your friends, and you're being put into this new town where you don't know anybody, I get it. That is really shitty. But is that an excuse to go into a murderous rage from hearing the trigger word Tennessee? No, not in my opinion, I'm not buying it. I believe that there has to be more underneath in all of this. You don't just plan and implement a very violent and sexual murder, just because mommy made you move. That's not how it works. There has to be some like deep hatred brewing inside. Now personally, I believe that this was some kind of lust murder, because lust murders are homicides in which the offender stabs, cuts, or pierces or mutilates, the sexual regions or organs of a person's body. The sexual mutilation of the victim might include, you know, some sort of displacement of the genitalia, some sharp wounds to it. It's the removal of breasts and a female victim, all sorts of different things. It also includes activities such as posing or propping up the body to make them appear in a more sexual state. Additionally, it also includes the insertion of objects into the body cavities, which we know that she was found with a three foot long stick, one inch in diameter that would have been shoved up inside of her. So while awaiting trial, apparently officers were investigating the validity of a very disturbing tip and lead that they received. Which, are you ready for this? Officers said that they were following up on a lead that this soccer star, this 15, this 14 year old kid now 15, who's accused of brutally murdering this beloved teacher or calling, that he got a twisted thrill from setting pet cats on fire. So, first of all, if it's true, what the heck is wrong with this guy? But also, does this show a clear pattern of escalation? We see so many times in serial killer cases and murderers that they start by harming animals, that that's one of the biggest signs to look for, that if there's ever any sort of talk of that, like that's a big red flag, it's time to like alert the police. So if this guy is so cold and calculated and cold-blooded, to where he's setting cats on fire and like getting off on it, how in the world is he triggered by the word Tennessee? If this whole cat thing is true, how are we supposed to believe that somebody who got thrills out of setting pet cats on fire? Is the same person who gets triggered by the word Tennessee? And again, I'm not trying to make fun of him or say that, you know, his feelings aren't valid for, it's sucking so bad, moving from Tennessee to Danvers, I get it. I'd be pissed too, but like, come on. I think that this kid is much more in line with like a psychopath. That's just my opinion. And guys, it gets even worse. Prosecutors for Philip's trial asked for more strict security after he allegedly also attacked a female youth worker that month. Court papers reveal that Philip, who is now at the time 15 years old, had slipped away from his caregivers, crept along a common hallway, crouched down out of view, then followed this female youth worker to a locker room, choked her and beat her around the head and face, all well armed with a pencil. Other workers came to the woman's aid when she was screaming and they restrained him luckily. Court documents also said that he appeared to be psychotic and was out of touch with reality. Yelling, screaming and coherently, foaming out at the mouth like a rabid dog while being restrained by staff. So after that, he was committed to a mental hospital for 30 days of evaluation and treatment. Leading up to the trial, assistant DA Kate McDougall said that nothing during the investigation had pointed to a mental health issue, but Phillips lawyer Denise Reagan said that she would raise the issue of mental competency if and when she felt it was appropriate. And Phillips trial was absolutely bat shit crazy. And it revealed even more disturbing details as if that's even physically possible at this point. Literally before it could even begin in day three of jury selection after a brief recess, Phillips attorney returned to court without Philip. Where was Philip? One of the clinicians on duty told the judge that Philip was refusing to come back and was on the floor banging his head, saying it's not safe to go in with him at the moment. Psychologist Colleen McMillan testified in court about Phillips' condition to explain what was going on and tell the judge what was up. And she says that she met with Philip for 90 minutes with his back turned to her the entire time. She said that Philip says that he doesn't wanna trial and hoped that someone would come in with a gun and shoot him. I bet other people wish that too, my friend. He said a voice warned him not to trust his lawyers and that he began conversing with an imaginary man. Philip told her the man didn't wanna be identified because the man said that the psychologist was also part of the team that put him away. He's also started reporting a burning sensation from anxiety, from listening to the proceedings and fear of being attacked from people in the courtroom who were walking around behind him. Philip also claimed to have a plan to take his own life, but apparently he wouldn't share it with her. Prosecutors argued this issue and saying it's not about confidence but Phillips unwillingness to go forward with the trial. So the next day, attorneys came back once again to meet and discuss the situation. The prosecutor said this absolutely is a matter of will and not competency. This defendant is holding every single party hostage and manipulating all of us. Everything that has happened in the last 24 hours is not real, it's fake. She argued that the state has conducted a very thorough evaluation on Philip and filed a 96 page report saying that doctors have studied him and declared him manipulative. Specifically, they said his behavior is entirely inconsistent with someone hearing voices. The judge had no choice but to admit him to another facility though to get checked for mental competency, just dragging the feet, everything in a standstill, so alter annoying. Well, let me just say this. Number one, it's funny that he wasn't this anxious and this nervous when he attacked Colleen in the bathroom and then went to a movie after he killed her and ate a cheeseburger at Wendy's using her credit card. Also, he was able to stalk and attack a staff member at whatever facility that was, that he was at when that happened, but now that he's being confronted with his actions, he's too scared to face the music, he's banging his head on the floor, he's hearing voices. Maybe being in the courtroom facing jury selection or during jury selection, I should say, with dozens of people in a very grave and sad mood with stirring looks, including parents, his own mom, crying. Maybe that started to be a little bit of a reality check in his sick mind and maybe that's why he was having a psychotic break, but I think more along the lines of this was all an act. So as maddening and as frustrating as this delay was, two Colleen's family and the prosecution as well, it was better than giving the defense grounds for appeal. So they said, okay, let him go get checked out for mental competency, this is super annoying, it's holding everything up, but we don't want you to come back later and appeal everything and say that he should have been checked for mental competency. So after a nearly three week evaluation at a recovery center, Philip was found competent to stand trial and jury selection resumed. So the jury selected and then we actually start going into the trial. Once the trial started, the prosecution did not play. They came in hot and let me just tell you, Kate McDool was like ready to drag Philip. She came out of the gate hot and honestly, I'm here for it. So in the prosecutor's opening statements, she said that Philip arrived at school that he had a blue sweatshirt with a hood, gloves, a mask and a box cutter, that he wasn't crazy when he killed Colleen, that this was calculated. He was focused and unwavering from his horrible plan to take what he wanted. And as a quote, she says, he had a goal, a terrible, terrible purpose, and he played it out in the woods and he didn't care what came after that. They also claimed that Colleen was incapacitated, but not dead when she got into the woods, meaning that she was still alive as he was wheeling her out of that school in the green recycling bin. They say that's where he carved those deep wounds and finished his sexual attack on her. We know that he didn't get to finish what he started in the bathroom because he was interrupted. So what they're saying there is remember that girl who opened the door saw on the naked button was like, oh, God, sorry, like I didn't mean to and then booked it out. He was in the process of trying to assault Colleen, they say, but because he wasn't able to because he was interrupted, that's why he then wheeled her to the woods and finished his attack there. So the prosecution paints their whole story, their whole position and really attacks Philip. And then it was time for the defense to try to paint Philip as this triggered little boy. His defense attorneys came out and pretty much said that yes, Philip did kill Colleen. It was brutal and that they were not going to argue that, which good because I mean the only thing that we're missing in this trial is watching him in the bathroom or the woods because everything else was caught on camera. So like, obviously he killed her. If you were gonna try to deny that, you'd be an absolute moron. However, they did say that Philip was psychotic, saying whilst would a kind, smart, good-natured 14 year old commit these terrible acts. He must be psychotic. They argued that he was uprooted from his home in Tennessee, thrust into a school in town where he knew no one and he had no place to hide. The defense's expert witness, Dr. Richard Dudley, who had spent several decades evaluating kids and teens with severe mental illnesses, then took the stand. He said he believed Philip had heard voices since he was 10 years old. His defense said that while he was attacking Colleen, he was not a kind, smart 14 year old boy. He was responding to those terrible commands that were hallucinations in his head and that he did not choose to do this. Which, okay, let me just say, one thing that bothers me so much about trials and expert witnesses, and this goes for the prosecution as well, but expert witnesses will literally say whatever you want them to. They are paid to basically be an expert witness. So I don't really know how credible it is in the end all be all. It isn't new, and it isn't new, it isn't a secret. We all kind of already know this, which makes it awkward whenever the state's like, "Oh, no, well, our doctor said he was a big figure." And then you have somebody say, "Well, no, our doctor said it was real." Obviously, they're gonna counter each other out. That's just how it goes. And I get it, it's because they both wanna build these strong arguments, but like anybody could say anything in that regard. Let me just say that. So now the question is, was Philip in the throes of psychosis and couldn't help, but listen to these alleged voices in his head? Or is he a malicious manipulative, dangerous little prick who is faking a mental illness now because he got caught? That was gonna be up to the 12 people on the jury, who haven't no medical education, because that makes perfect sense, right? Let them decide, let them listen to these expert witnesses who both counter each other out negating all these things, and then you have to decide. And I'm not coming down on the justice system, guys. I get it, I believe in the justice system. I believe in a jury trial, but when it comes down to something like this, to state, was he malicious or was he in psychosis? How can a jury truly decide that? I don't know, tell me if you know the answer. (dramatic music) Now during day two of the trial, Philip went and pulled the exact same stunt that he did during jury selection. I am not even joking. The prosecution was absolutely livid, and they were very concerned about the timing of this, because when this happened, it was when the actual green recycle bin that he used was going to be brought into the courtroom for jurors to see. They also urged the judge to not let Philip continue to act like he's in control of this process. And this time too, the judge was not having it. He was not dealing with these delays. And so he said, you know what, fine. If Philip wants to waive his right to be present in court, that's fine, it's gonna continue without him. But once Philip was brought back in and the judge explained that Philip could waive his right to be present, Philip said that now he actually wants to be there, now that it wasn't working. So I don't know, it wasn't confirmed why Philip decided to stay in court and why he changed his mind. But I believe it's because he didn't want to pass the chance to throw another tantrum in the future, like a child in a grocery store. That is just my opinion. I think he was trying to do all of these stall techniques. When this one didn't work and when the judge finally called his bluff and said like, all right, look fine. Then you know what, you don't need to be here. That means like, well, no, no, I do want to be here. During the course of the entire trial, jurors saw the chilling videos of Philip following Colleen into the bathroom. But the prosecutor, nearly yelling at times, walked them through Philip's movements, checking his pocket for the box cutter, putting his hoodie on, putting on the gloves, opening the bathroom door, and then wheeling the recycle bin out. And she said, and I quote, "But all of those images, while they show deliberate pre-meditation, don't matter as much as one. The only still image that matters in this case is the image of Colleen in the woods, the image that the defendant painted of Colleen, stripped, battered, brutalized, and violated. The defense was able to get Philip's initial conversation and confession where he told the police about the girl and the woods thrown out. But fortunately, the case was so strong from that video and the physical evidence. And I mean, it's just unreal, like thank goodness for all of those video cameras. After all of that, the case was left in the hands of the jury. And finally, on December 15th, 2015, the verdict was in. Philip was found guilty on all counts. first-degree murder, aggravated rape. rape, and armed robbery. And when it was time for Philip sentencing hearing, Colleen's family finally got their chance to speak about how this horrific crime truly affected them. Colleen's mother Peggy described the absolutely heart breaking moment that she had to tell Colleen's younger sister what had happened to her. And she was also very upset about the new laws and Massachusetts that would affect Philip sentencing. As a mother, one of your worst fears for your daughter is that she could be sexually assaulted. He would now, in addition to the original three charges, speak charged with sexually assaulting Colleen in the bathroom. This charged added to the horror of the crimes. We once again had to go home. As Tom talked to Dan, and I told my 17-year-old daughter that her sister had been raped, as I saw such pain in fear in her eyes. The emotional and physical pain was intensified when we received a phone call on Christmas Eve of 2013, following the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling that changed and using the juveniles convicted of first degree murder by ruling that they could no longer be giving a left's life setting without the possibility of parole. It was devastating to hear that news, knowing that the legal battle would never end for our family. Instead of following the federal court's appropriate respectful decision to extend discretion to the judges, Massachusetts took that law one step too far and took away your right to sentence him to life without parole. Because of that immoral and unjust ruling, our family will be forced to publicly go through this pain, again, as we have to fight to keep such evil person in prison where he belongs for light. As Tom and I age, that burden will fall to Dan and Laura, a burden that they should not carry. As we have sat through this very long trial and this very long judicial process, the horrific details of that day had been made known to all. You have heard and seen all the evidence, including statements he made that night to the police, that clearly demonstrates that he knew exactly what he was doing. Then she begged the judge for the harshest possible sentence. He deserves the sentence of death for the brutal crimes he committed, but that is not an option. He deserves life in prison without the eligibility of parole, but that is not an option. You do, though, have the option to set consecutive life sentences with parole, really, at the highest level, that the court allows for each of these crimes. Please begin the long and painful process of writing the wrong of the SJC and legislatures. You have the responsibility for calling for our family and for the community to put him away for the rest of his life. Even at the 50 years, he could still have a life of family, children, which cannot happen. He is pure evil and evil can never be rehabilitated. You need to consider the safety of our family and the rest of the community as we live in fear if he ever gets out of prison. Calling in our family will never get a second chance in either should he. I will never forgive him for what he did to calling and for what he took away from our family. Today, you need to make the right, just in brave decision to give him three consecutive sentences with a maximum number of years before parole eligibility for each crime. - When it was time for the judge to hand down his sentence, he did not mince any words about how absolutely deplorable this crime was. The court will impose a sentence in this case without emotion, passion, sympathy, or pity. But one cannot see and hear what this court has during the course of this case without feeling that the crashing waves of this tragedy will never wane. There is no quote, right and quote sentence. No amount of prison time would ever be enough to be commensurate with this crime. And no math will ever erase the reality that this crime was committed by a 14 year old boy. While this court is constitutionally required to consider that there is always the possibility of redemption, even if the defendant were to live a perfect life from this moment on whose repeated stab wounds to calling Richard's young body will remain indelible with calling Richard's family, friends, and community until the last person who knew Pauline Richell takes his or her last lesson. - In the end, Philip was handed the harshest sentence possible for someone his age in Massachusetts. Life in prison with a possibility of parole in 40 years. Throughout the trial, Philip also didn't appear to show an ounce of remorse and looked completely just devoid of all emotion completely, which combined with this heinous crime suggests to me that he's seriously a psychopath. Like I get it, I'm not a doctor and that's not a diagnosis. It's just my opinion, but like to be that cold, that callous, there's something else going on. And you're like lighting cats on fire, bro, the writings on the wall. And that's not even mentioning the case with the youth services worker. In the end, that attack was so severe that Philip ended up being charged with attempted murder in addition to assault with a dangerous weapon and kidnapping. That case finally went to trial in 2024 when Philip was 25 years old. And for a while, I will be honest with you, it seemed like he was going to go with the whole mental health defense again, saying he wasn't guilty because he was hearing voices in his head, but during preliminary hearings for that case, the victim spoke out against Philip, saying that she still has nightmares about him 10 years later. She said, "I'm unable to leave my bedroom for hours for fear that he will be waiting for me. Ready to kill me?" True monsters exist in the world. Philip Chisholm is a monster and a murderer. Now, maybe her statement really struck a chord with Philip. I don't know. Honestly, I can't imagine this guy having any empathy, but, hey, what do I know? But either way, after it, at the very last minute, he changed his plea to guilty. And not only that, but his lawyer asked for the harshest possible sentence, saying that Philip did want to take responsibility for what he did. Which, like, hello, where was that when it was time to take responsibility for Colleen's murder, right? In the end, he was sentenced to 17 to 20 years in prison for the attempted murder charge, and also sentenced to nine to 10 years for the other charges, which will be served concurrently with his sentence for Colleen's death. In other words, these new charges, truthfully, unfortunately, won't affect the amount of time that he's in jail because the time that he serves for Colleen's murder will also count as time served for this case. But if God forbid, his conviction wherever to get appealed in Colleen's case, his ass would still be in jail for this case. So, I mean, at least there's that. And that would turn out to be a very important technicality, because just a couple of months after Philip's whole, you know, I'm taking responsibility, stick, he did the exact opposite by filing for an appeal in Colleen's case. His lawyer said that his rape and his robbery convictions were completely bogus. Which, I don't know where they were getting that from. I mean, did they not see the tree branch that this sicko used on her? They also said that the judge didn't allow them to show important evidence to the jury that would prove that Philip was mentally ill, including brain scans, expert witnesses, you name it. Which, as you can imagine, Colleen's family was absolutely livid by this. In a statement, they pointed out that Philip has never shown any remorse for what he did. And they said that he's completely beyond rehabilitation. They said, and I quote, "Colleen and our family will not be afforded a second chance. If we live in a justice society, neither should he." And every year, since Colleen's death, her family has held seminars driving that exact point home. - When a beautiful life such as Colleen's is taken with such brutality, callousness, and pre-meditation, that individual needs to be in prison for life. It doesn't matter how old he was when the crime was committed. And it doesn't matter that in 30 years, he might be rehabilitated. And thankfully, in February of 2025, the Massachusetts Supreme Court agreed with Colleen's mom. They said that there were no errors in any of the judges' rulings, and that Philip was exactly where he belonged. So with Philip behind bars for at least 40 years and, hopefully, the rest of his life, Colleen's family was finally free to put all of their energy into honoring her legacy. Colleen's family set up a memorial fund called the Colleen Ritzer Memorial Fund, whose mission is to foster a society of compassion with kindness as a motivating influence in all of its endeavors. They sell pink daisies, they organize 5K events, and they do a variety of other things to help raise money for this fund. They've also created a hashtag where they encourage others to share acts of kindness on social media using the hashtag, Kindness for Colleen. - Every year since Colleen's death, her friends and family have come together to spread random acts of kindness in her honor. - It was a force. Like this amazing positive force in so many people's lives. She was that person when you were having a bad day. She'd be the first person I'd reach out to. - Jennifer Berger was Colleen Ritzer's best friend for 19 years. October 22nd is a day she'd rather not have to mark. - We wanted to shift it into something positive. - So instead she chooses to mark it showing kindness for Colleen, holding a door, a single flower from a stranger, donuts for the school faculty, or in Jennifer's case today, a generous tip. We were witness to the cause. - Jennifer was charged for two sandwiches, and when I tried to stop him in his assistance, he said, no, please buy somebody else a lunch from me, and he left a $20 opportunity that he wanted us to force forward also. - And the effect this afternoon. - How many years have you been here before this? - Really. - Really? - It's good. - I know that again, it's good. - It's really good. - And how just being nice is nice. Hopefully, the next person comes in and keeps it going throughout the rest of the day. Jennifer New Colleen. than almost anyone. And she's pretty sure it's what Colleen would want. She's the sunshine, and I think a lot of people's lives. She brought so much every day to my life, and not having her here is hard. It will always be hard. And I think what I can do as a friend is make sure she's not forgotten. I think that one of the most beautiful things to come out of such a horrific tragedy is the way that Colleen's friends and family have honored her memory. Instead of letting the story end with the crime, they've turned their grief into something that helps other people. They even created a scholarship fund for students who want to become teachers, just like Colleen. More than a decade after her death, Colleen's legacy is still very much alive. And honestly, that says a tremendous amount about the kind of person that she was. Her impact didn't just disappear that day in 2013. It lives on through the students she taught, the people who loved her, and the future teachers who are following in her footsteps. She was a daughter, a sister, a teacher, and someone who clearly left a very lasting mark on a lot of lives. But there's still one huge piece of this puzzle, and I'm really curious to know what you guys think. Do you think that Philip was really having a mental health crisis when he killed Colleen? Did those voices in his head actually drive him to do it? Or was he fully aware of what he was doing? Basically, a teenage calculated, cold-blooded killer who knew that it was wrong, but did it anyway. And all of that leads to an even bigger question. What do we do with kids who commit crimes like this? Do you think rehabilitation is even possible in cases this extreme? Because it is such a fine line, right? On one hand, they're minors. Their brains aren't fully developed yet, and the justice system is supposed to leave room for them to change and to heal and to grow. But on the other hand, there's a huge risk that someone who commits violence like this so barbarically, so cruelly, that they could easily do it again after they're released. I mean, for me personally, when I look at cases like this one, I don't see this as a teenager who made a mistake because of their age. This was calculated. This was deliberate, and in my opinion, Philip's mind was already set in stone the day that he killed Colleen. And the fact that he's never even said sorry in a decade since that all happened? I mean, that just proves that. So I don't know, maybe rehabilitation is possible in some situations. I'm not saying that it never happens, but in this case, where Philip has never taken responsibility and has never shown even a hint of remorse, I just don't see any chance of rehabilitation. I see someone who is still a huge danger to society. And personally, I'm glad that Philip is going to be locked up for a very, very long time. But that's just my opinion, and I really want to hear what you guys think. So, so let me know in the comments section below if you are watching on YouTube or in the review and Q&A section on Spotify or Apple if you are listening to this. And don't forget, if you are listening to the audio version of this, you definitely are going to want to go watch the video version to see all of that footage. It is unbelievable. Truly, it is. Thank you guys so much for tuning into another episode of 10 to life. Don't forget, like this video on your way out, hit the subscribe button on YouTube, follow on the podcast so that you don't miss new episodes. We have new episodes that come out every single Tuesday. And I will be back with you next week with an all-new case, not reopened, but brand new. All right, until the next one. Stay safe. Bye.