A beloved Danvers, Massachusetts high school math teacher was stabbed to death by a student who dumped her body in the woods, media reports state.
The teenager, whose name was not disclosed because he is a juvenile, faces arraignment today. He is charged with killing math teacher Colleen Ritzer.
Law enforcement sources confirm that Ritzer, 24, was stabbed to death.
"She was a very respected, loved teacher," said Essex County D.A. 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 may have been in the case.
"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 say there is surveillance video inside the high school that shows the accused killer dragging Ritzer's body from the bathroom.
The deceased instructor was in what appeared to be a recycle bin.
The murder suspect, who recently moved to Massachusetts from Tennessee, was reported missing Tuesday after he failed to return home from school.
He was found by police last night in a neighboring community. Ritzer, meanwhile, was described by her stunned students as an "amazing teacher."
Her passion for her students shined through on her Twitter, where she described herself as a "math teacher often too excited about the topics I'm teaching."
Earlier this week police in Danvers, 22 miles north of Boston, had sent well wishes via Twitter after a Nevada school shooting took a teacher's life.
Our condolences go out to the victims of both tragedies.
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