Teen accused in teacher killing competent to stand trial

By The Associated Press

news@abc6.com 

DANVERS, Mass. (AP) _ A judge has declared that a Massachusetts teenager charged with raping and killing his math teacher is competent to stand trial.

Essex County Superior Court Judge David Lowy concluded Wednesday that the trial of 16-year-old Philip Chism can resume after the judge reviewed the findings of a mental health evaluation.

Chism is charged in the October 2013 rape and slaying of 24-year-old Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer. He was 14 at the time but is being tried as an adult. He pleaded not guilty.

His trial was delayed after a judge ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation last month.        

Chism had refused to enter the courtroom, banged his head against a floor and told a psychologist he hears voices and hopes someone will shoot him.

(C) The Associated Press 2015