Crime & Safety

Chism 'Psychotic' After Attacking DYS Staff Member

Murder suspect Philip Chism was reportedly “psychotic” after he attacked a female Department of Youth Services staff member by choking, punching and stabbing her with a pencil in the bathroom.

Chism, who allegedly murdered Danvers High School math teacher Colleen Ritzer last October, attacked the worker at a juvenile facility earlier this month. He followed her into a bathroom before the attack, which is eerily similar to the murder. 

Chism reportedly attacked her with a pencil. The teenager also allegedly choked and beat the staff member before other staff could restrain Chism. 

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The Boston Globe reported that a legal filing said Chism “presented immediately with psychotic symptoms, yelling, screaming incoherently, [and] foaming at the mouth” after staff members restrained him.

Read the full Boston Globe article.

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