EXCLUSIVE: Student,14, PLANNED to 'slash teacher to death' but refuses to say why, police reveal



Math teacher Colleen Ritzer was 'slashed to death with a box cutter' in the bathroom at Danvers High School Tuesday

Philip Chism, 14, one of her students, is charged with her murder

Classmate says Ritzer made him stay late after class Tuesday because he was doodling in his notebook



Thousands from the town of Danvers, Massachusetts, held a candle-lit vigil for the teacher, where she was remembered as a 'brilliant ray of light'



Chism 'went to see Woody Allen movie after the killing' and was the only one in the theater

Chism's grandmother apologized for the violence alleged committed by her grandson



Philip Chism, the 14-year-old accused of killing beloved school teacher Colleen Ritzer, 'completely planned' the brutal attack, according to police sources.



The teenage soccer star even brought a spare set of clothes into class so he could change and dump his bloodstained outfit to avoid detection when he made his trip to a local cinema and Wendy's restaurant.



He was caught on security camera at the Hollywood Hits movie theatre soon after 4pm on Tuesday wearing a clean sweat suit. Police found his discarded clothes and the box cutter knife used in the attack hidden in woods near Danver High School and now have them as evidence.

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Student turned on teacher: Philip Chism (left) is the main suspect in the murder of math teacher Colleen Ritzer (right) who was found stabbed to death and ditched behind their school in Danvers, Massachusetts

Sources have revealed Chism has been 'completely co-opertative' with the investigation, telling officers every detail of how he killed Ritzer, but he is refusing to give any reason why he attacked the beloved maths teacher.



He has apparently remained, 'stone cold', showing very little emotion.



Officers from Danvers Police Department are working on a couple of theories, one of which is that Chism was infatuated with 24-year-old Colleen.



The MailOnline revealed yesterday that investigators are trying to determine whether Chism may have attacked her because she spurned his unwelcome advances. But he will apparently not confirm or deny anything.

Classmates have told how Ritzer asked Chism to stay after class after she saw him drawing in his notebook instead of taking notes in the hourse before he allegedly killed her.



A well placed police source said: "When we picked him up wandering around early on Wednesday night, he was subdued and showed very little emotion. He was stone cold.



"He pretty much told us everything about how it happened and with the help of camera around the campus we were able to build up a very clear picture of events.



"He didn't deny anything and did not hold back information. But he would give absolutely no reason why he did it. There seems to no rhyme or reason. That is very rare. If someone is going to reveal what they did, they would usually give a reason, because, however mad their views, they want people to know what their motive was.



Charged: Philip Chism, 14, appeared in court Wednesday afternoon to answer charges that he beat Ritzer to death. He did not speak during his appearance and will not be released on bail

Charged: Philip Chism, 14, (right) will be charged as an adult in the murder of his teacher. His classmates and family described his as 'nice' and 'quiet' and were shocked by the charges

"We are obviously working on theories, based on intelligence and intuition, but until he actually tells us what was going on in his head, it will be incredibly hard to give a definitive answer.



"One thing we do think is that this was completely planned. He brought a change of clothes with him into school and changed after the attack. He dumped the body, his original clothes and the box cutter in the woods.



"That has all been found and is now evidence in the investigation. It is incredible to think he did this in the day, when other children were about. There was soccer practice going on. It is just so strange."



"But we are determined to get to the bottom of this once and for all and bring some closure to this terrible tragedy."

The Boston Globe reports that the last public interaction between teacher Colleen Ritzer and her killer Phillip Chism came when she saw him drawing in class.

Another student recalls seeing Ms Ritzer notice his sketching and she said matter-of-factly: 'I didn't know you could draw.'

Rania Rhaedaoui was in the class and told the paper that Chism just nodded in response.

'There was a test coming up and she wanted to know if he had any questions,' Rania said.

A different student saw the two together an hour after the last class of the day had ended, and she was standing next to him as he was sitting down by her computer.

'It just looked normal, like any other day,' Cambria Cloutier told The Boston Globe.

Chism allegedly followed Colleen into a bathroom in the school then punched her in the face and slashed her throat with a box cutter before stuffing her lifeless body in a recycling bin.

Police sources exclusively revealed to MailOnline that investigators are now looking into the theory that Chism may have had a crush on Ritzer, who was incredibly popular with students because of her friendly, approachable manner.

Honor: The Boston Redsox paused before Game One of the World Series at Fenway Park Wednesday night for a moment of silence to honor Ritzer

A moment's silence was held for Miss Ritzer on Wednesday night before the start of the MLB baseball World Series at Fenway Park in Boston

Mourning: Hundreds of students, parents and fellow teachers attended the memorial service for Colleen Ritzer in Danvers Wednesday night

They are trying to determine whether he killed the dedicated math teacher at Danvers High School because she spurned his inappropriate advances.

Stunned parents have attended a meeting at Danvers High School where police and education authorities tried to reassure them that their children were not in danger in the wake of the murder.

Around one thousand adults turned out for the talk, and MailOnline can reveal they were told to try to sympathize with the parents of suspected murderer Philip Chism, who are facing up to the fact that their son may be a killer.

One parent, Don Thornell explained: 'They told us to keep in mind that essentially two families lost children. You've got to remember that to his parents, he is still their kid. He is involved in a terrible tragedy, but he is still their kid. You have to sympathize with them. They must be going through hell at the moment.'

Chief Neil Ouellette of the Danvers Police Department also revealed the school would be open for all children tomorrow, but the bathroom where Colleen Ritzer was slain will be closed for the 'foreseeable future'.

He said: 'We will never recover from the loss of Colleen, but we want to get this community and this school back to some kind of normality.'

Understanding Philip: The 14-year-old had just recently moved to Danvers and was tough to get to know since he was shy and quiet

Horrific: Investigators can be seen here carrying Colleen Ritzer's body from the woods where it was discovered early Wednesday

And he told how safety procedures at the school would be under review in the wake of the tragedy, adding: 'We do critiques and reviews after every major incident, so clearly we will be doing that in this situation.'

Chism may have stolen the weapon from art class after hanging around after school.

Classmate told Kara Behen, 14, Wicked Local that Chism had been acting strangely lately.

'The last couple weeks he like totally faded out,' she said.

Chism has been described as 'quiet' and 'nice' and were shocked by the brutal violence he is accused of inflicting on a much-loved, dedicated teacher.

Tragic: Colleen Ritzer, 24, was found dead behind Danvers High School on Wednesday morning

Other students, who played soccer with accused 14-year-old Chism, said that he was a really nice boy but incredibly shy and hard to get to know.

One said: 'He was nice, but really quiet. No one really knew him that well. Apparently when he was arrested he was unresponsive and barely said anything at all.

'Nothing like this has ever happened in Danvers before. No one can believe what is going on.'

His grandmother, Angelia Chism, said she has not seen Philip in years, but was horrified by the charges.

'We very much want to express our sadness and regret for this,' she told ABC News.

Authorities say they are investigating whether that behavior change could have been a result of Chism's romantic feelings for his teacher.

Chism had recently moved to Danvers from Tennessee and joined the soccer team, where he was the junior varsity squad's leading scorer.

A police source told the MailOnline: 'One of the theories going around is that this boy had a major crush on Colleen.

'She was a very friendly, approachable teacher and it is possible he completely misread her affable nature and made some kind of advance towards her,’ the source said.

'Whether that happened on Tuesday night, or some time before is unclear. Being the professional she was, she would obviously have told him how inappropriate that was. That may have angered him enough to act as some kind of motivation for the attack.

'It is just a theory at present, but seems plausible as there don't seem to be any other explanations as to why he would possibly commit such a senseless crime.'

Another police source said officers were on a heightened state of alert, in case of any copycat attacks.

He said: 'Whenever anything like this happens, you worry there is going to be some kind of copycat incident.

'Unfortunately, it is fairly common these days. Everyone is on their guard to make sure that doesn't happen.'

Colleen, left, is the oldest of three children (pictured here). She still lived with her parents in nearby Andover and was going to graduate school to be a school psychologist

The small Massachusetts town paid tribute to the slain teacher on Wednesday night with hundreds of residents holding a candle-light vigil at the school where she died. Many students dressed in her favorite color pink and described her as a 'brilliant ray of light'. Tens of thousands of fans at Fenway Park paused for a moment of silence and Ritzer's face flashed on the big screen before the beginning of Game One of the World Series in Boston Wednesday night.

The chain of events on Tuesday is still being worked out, and police are trying to nail down the order of Chism’s actions between the end of school, Ritzer’s death which was thought to be around 4pm and his pick up by police just after midnight.

CNN reports that he then changed his clothes and went to a movie at the local theater. ABC says he saw the Woody Allen film 'Blue Jasmine' which is about a middle-aged woman’s mental breakdown following the suicide of her conniving husband.

The manager of the theater told the Boston Globe he sat alone during the movie - he was the only one in the theater for the 4.30pm show Tuesday.

Ritzer, 24, was reported missing by her family when she didn't come home from school on Tuesday night.

Members of the Danvers High School community hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday for math teacher Colleen Ritzer, 24, who was murdered at Danvers High School on Tuesday night

another at a makeshift memorial for teacher Colleen Ritzer outside the high school where she taught in Danvers, Massachusetts

Danvers High School students prepare to launch sky lanterns during a candlelight vigil to mourn the death of Colleen Ritzer

Officers then went to the school, where they found a second-floor bathroom covered in blood.

Police in neighboring Topsfield picked up the missing teen about 12.30am on Wednesday after they discovered him walking along a highway.

Chism was taken to detectives in Danvers where he allegedly led police to the teacher's body behind the school.

The 6’2” teenager appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon where he was charged as an adult in Miss Ritzer's murder. He is now being held without bail.

The boy's attorney entered a plea of not guilty and requested a mental health evaluation for the boy and suggested she would argue that he was not mentally competent to stand trial. He was held without bail following the arraignment in Salem District Court.

His family was in the courtroom during his arraignment and a woman believed to be his mother could be seen sobbing in the gallery.

