Massachusetts Student Charged With Murdering Teacher

24-year old math teacher was found in the woods near school

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Updated: 2:13 p.m.

A 14-year old Massachusetts student pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday afternoon after a teacher at his suburban Boston high school was found dead Tuesday night, authorities said.

Philip D. Chism was charged as an adult for the murder of Colleen Ritzer, 24, and the plea was entered on his behalf by a public defender, a spokeswoman for Essex County District Attorney’s Office confirmed to TIME. Chism is being held without bail.

Ritzer, a math teacher at Danvers High School in Danvers, Mass.,, was reported missing at 11:20 p.m. on Tuesday after she failed to come home or pick up her phone. When police investigated, they found blood in a bathroom at the school and later discovered Ritzer’s body in the woods near campus, the Eagle Tribune reports.

“It is apparent she was a homicide victim,” District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said.

Earlier in the day, a missing persons report had been filed for Chism, who failed to come home from school or show up to soccer practice, the Boston Globe reports. He was found walking along a nearby highway Tuesday night, and was taken into police custody.

A court hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 22. Chism’s lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.