Security footage taken inside a US high school shows a teacher smiling and waving in the school hall moments before she entered a bathroom where a 14-year-old student allegedly murdered her, a court has heard.
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Jurors were shown the footage in the trial of student Philip Chism, now aged 16, who has been charged with murdering and raping his maths teacher, Colleen Ritzer, 24, at their high school in Danvers, Massachusetts, two years ago.
In the footage, taken on October 22, 2013, Ms Ritzer is shown leaving her classroom at the school, about 35 kilometres north of Boston, and walking towards the bathroom. She is smiling in the vision, and at one point waves at a person off camera.
Moments later, a male who police allege is Chism leaves his classroom and walks towards the same bathroom. He is wearing a blue jumper with the hood pulled up, and puts on a pair of gloves.
Another clip taken about 10 minutes later shows the same male leaving the bathroom with his hood still raised and his head down, walking quickly down a hall and carrying clothing in his arms, including what appears to be Ms Ritzer's pants. His right hand is visibly red.
Ms Ritzer's family were in Salem Superior Court on Wednesday, local time, and watched the footage while sitting just metres from their daughter's alleged murderer, the Boston Herald reported.
Prosecutors allege that Chism followed Ms Ritzer into the bathroom after school, raped her, cut her throat with a box cutter, and transported her body to a wooded area off campus in a recycling barrel.
The Danvers High math teacher was 5 feet 4 and slim. #PhilipChism pic.twitter.com/dckOSZGf2V— Laurel J. Sweet (@Laurel_Sweet)
November 18, 2015
Chism has pleaded not guilty to rape and murder, and is being tried as an adult.
In their opening statement, Chism's lawyers admitted that their client killed Ms Ritzer, but told the jury he should not be held criminally responsible because he had been "severely mentally ill" since the age of 10.
Vinicio Pimentel, a supervisor with cleaning company S & J Services on duty at the high school that day, told the jury he entered the bathroom where Ms Ritzer died to find blood all over the floor and splashed on the walls.
"There were footsteps with blood in front of the door," Mr Pimentel said, the Boston Herald reported.
Pointing to a photo of the toilet stalls, he said: "Inside here, there was more [blood]."
At the trial on Tuesday, Chism refused to return to the courtroom after a break, saying he was "about to explode" and did not "want to hurt anyone".
At one point he lay on the floor of his holding cell and did not respond to questions from the judge.
The trial continues.
Fairfax Media with Reuters
