DANVERS, MASS. (WHDH) - The family of a Danvers teacher who was raped and murdered by one of her students is suing the makers of the school’s security system, saying it was not working properly when she was attacked.
Colleen Ritzer, 24, was raped and murdered by 14-year-old student Phillip Chism at Danvers High School in 2013, with Chism attacking her in a bathroom with a box cutter and then removing her body from the school in a recycling bin. Chism was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Ritzer’s family is now suing Dinisco Design Partnership, the company that designed the security system installed at Danvers High School. The lawsuit claims the system was not working properly during the attack, and if it had been working Colleen Ritzer’s murder could have been prevented.
At a hearing in Lawrence Superior Court Tuesday, attorneys for Dinisco argued the system was functioning properly and a judge took the case under advisement.
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