Massachusetts Teen Charged as Adult in Stabbing Death of Danvers Teacher

DANVERS, Mass. Oct. 23, 2013— -- A 14-year-old Massachusetts boy was charged as an adult and held without bail today in the stabbing death of a beloved high school math teacher.

Philip D. Chism remained silent during his first court appearance today where he was charged with murdering Colleen Ritzer, 24, who taught math at Danvers High School. He was dressed in a white jail jump suit and exhibited little emotion.

Standing 6-foot-2, Chism towered above his lawyer, who told the judge "he's only 14," but the judge replied that it was an "adult court and an adult proceeding."

Read the Inspiring Tweets of Slain Teacher Colleen Ritzer

A probable cause hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 22.

After reviewing surveillance video at the school and interviewing Chism, police said they learned that the 14-year-old stabbed Ritzer and then dumped her body in the woods behind the campus.

"She was a very respected, loved teacher," said Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett. "At 24 years of age it's a terrible tragedy for the entire Danvers community."

Police discovered Ritzer's blood in a second-floor bathroom late Tuesday night before her body was later found behind the school, Blodgett said.

Blodgett declined to say what the motive might have been.

"The teacher was reported missing and as a result of that, and her not answering her cell phone, police instituted a search and found blood," Blodgett said.

Law enforcement sources told ABC News there is surveillance video inside the high school that shows the student hauling Ritzer's body from the bathroom toward the woods in what appeared to be a recycle bin. The school is a new building and is equipped with 130 cameras, officials said.

All public schools in Danvers were closed today.

Philip Chism, Teen Accused of Stabbing Teacher, 'Kept to Himself'

Chism was reported missing at 5:34 p.m. on Tuesday by a family member, according to the district attorney's office. A few hours later, Danvers Police received a report that Ritzer, who lived in Andover, had not returned home from work and was not answering her cell phone.

Police then went to the school where they found the grisly crime scene.

At 12:30 a.m. today, police responded to a report of a pedestrian, who turned out to be Chism, walking north in the southbound lane on Route One. The teen was then transported to the Danvers Police Department.

Several student athletes at Danvers High School told ABC News that Chism was a junior varsity soccer player and said they had searched for him when told he was missing.

"He just moved here, so he didn't have like a huge group of friends," student Ryan Kelleher told ABC News. "But soccer's one big family so we all knew him, we all liked him. He was nice. We just never saw it coming."

Chism, who is being charged as an adult, was booked into jail at 5:33 a.m. this morning, according to a copy of the booking sheet obtained by ABC News.

Slain Teacher Had Passion For Math and Students

Ritzer was described by her students as an "amazing teacher."

Her passion for her students shined through on her Twitter account, where she described herself as a "math teacher often too excited about the topics I'm teaching."

Ritzer's family released a statement mourning their "beautiful daughter and sister."