The family of an Andover woman and Danvers High School teacher who was raped and killed by a student in 2013 settled its civil suit against the school’s architect.
Philip Chism, who was 14 when he killed Colleen Ritzer, 24, after school closed on Oct. 23, 2013, is serving a life sentence. Chism attacked Ritzer, a math teacher, in a then newly-refurbished wing of Danvers High School. The Ritzer family sued DiNisco in 2016 after learning it had been warned by two separate contractors that the school’s security system would not work with the hardware installed by Danvers Public Schools.
“This litigation was never about assessing blame on any civil Defendant. The only person to blame for the murder of Colleen is serving a life sentence in prison,” the Ritzer family and DiNisco Design Inc. said in a joint statement Friday. “Through the civil litigation, the Ritzers gained answers to questions related to school security at Danvers High School. DiNisco Design was helpful to the Ritzers’ pursuit of those answers.”
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The Colleen E. Ritzer Memorial Foundation “will continue to emphasize the importance of improving school security for students and teachers. DiNisco Design joins the Ritzers in honoring Colleen’s memory,” the joint statement said.