Teen could get life term in killing of high school teacher

SALEM, Mass. (AP) — A teenager who raped and killed his high school math teacher faces up to life in prison when he's sentenced later today.

Philip Chism was convicted in December in the 2013 death of Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer. He was 14 when he followed the 24-year-old Ritzer into a school bathroom, strangled her, stabbed her at least 16 times and raped her.

Ritzer's parents, siblings, colleagues and lifelong friends described a young woman who loved her job, her students and life and who never had a negative word to say. Many of them wore pink, her favorite color.

Peggie Ritzer said her daughter's death had left her "so very broken."

"Now I isolate myself from people I love because pretending being to be happy is so difficult," she said.

She asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence. "He is pure evil, and evil can never be rehabilitated," she said.

Tom Ritzer said he felt like he had failed his daughter.

"I didn't protect Colleen. A dad's job is to fix things. I would do anything I could if could fix this for Colleen."

The 17-year-old Chism faces life on the murder charge but would be eligible for parole after 15 to 25 years. He also faces lengthy sentences on charges of aggravated rape and robbery. Prosecutors have asked that he stay in prison for at least 50 years.