Lawyers seek rape charge dismissal for Massachusetts teen accused in teacher's slaying

Published May 03, 2016

Lawyers for a Massachusetts teen charged with killing his high school math teacher are trying to get an aggravated rape charge against him dropped, a move that angered prosecutors.

Sixteen-year-old Philip Chism is charged with murder as an adult in the October 2013 slaying of Danvers High teacher Colleen Ritzer. Chism was 14 at the time. He's charged with killing, robbing, and raping the Andover woman and leaving her body behind the school.

The Salem News (http://bit.ly/1M1InHj ) reports that prosecutors said Thursday they were notified of the defense's motion to dismiss by email on Wednesday, less than a month before the start of his trial scheduled for Oct. 7.

The motion argues that a grand jury has insufficient evidence to determine probable cause for the charge.

Chism's attorneys refused comment.

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Information from: The Salem (Mass.) News, http://www.salemnews.com

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