Sword and Scale - Episode 87

Episode Date: April 9, 2017

Over the course of a normal school day, a mystery unravels. At first there is chaos, confusion and much worry, but soon all of that anxiety melts into a river of loss and agony as friends and family members find out the truth. This first part of a two-part story is sure to keep you riveted, at the edge of your seat, and pulling your hair out waiting for the next part. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences Listener discretion is advised I had believed at that time that the search had ended and I specifically said to the dispatcher I can't believe a 14 year olds a life would be that bad that he would kill himself. Welcome to season 4, Episode 87 of an abandoned house, a back alley, and there are some jobs where you expect to see the horrors of human nature, like a cop or a forensic pathologist. But life has a way of throwing the unpredictable at us, and we never know if today will

be our last day on Earth. This is the story of someone who clearly didn't see this day coming, in the sad tale of circumstance surrounding it. Danvers, Massachusetts, in Essex County, previously known as Salem Village, where some of the Salem Witch Trials were conducted. This town is made up of predominantly whites, population over 26,000, with either of the black or Hispanic populations making up less than 1%. This is Carolyn Quigley. This is Quigley, what town do you live in? I live in Danvers.

She's the mother of four. Erin is 17, Emma is 15, Duncan Patrick are 13. Her oldest child 15-year-old Erin Quigley attends Danvers High School in Danvers, Massachusetts. She's a sophomore in 10th grade. How did Aaron typically get to school? She took the bus most days. And did that include going to school and coming home? Yes, frequently she would stay after school

and I would have to pick her up. And how would that be arranged? Would that be arranged in the morning or later in the day? I would later in the day she would call me. On this particular day, Erin did call her mother. It's Tuesday, October 22, 2013, and it's approximately 3-10 in the afternoon. She had stayed after school. She called me to come pick her up.

And when you would pick her up, did you have a specific place that the two of you arranged at the school where you would pick her up? Yeah, I would typically pick her up in the driveway where parents do drop-offs. And is that where you met her that day? Yes. It's a day like any other. Parents picking up their kids from the high school, oblivious to the tragedy that's about to unfold.

While you were waiting for Aaron, were you parked in a parking space or alongside the road? I was alongside the school in the driveway. And did anything catch your attention while you were waiting for Aaron? Yes, I saw a boy in the bushes who was crouched. He was looking around like he was looking to see if anyone was looking at him. He looked like he was changing, stood up, pulled a shirt down, pulled pants, kind of adjust a pants, put a belt on, and then he picked up a bundle and put it in, there's an L in that air in, he picked up bundle up and put it in, there's an L in that area, and he picked up that bundle up and put it in that corner. Her other daughter, Emma, who's also in the car,

sees the boy changing too, on the front right corner of the school, where the two walls make a 45 degree turn back inwards. And some bushes are planted there, which the boy is using for cover. And were you watching this from inside your car? Yes. Did you know this male individual?

No. And after you saw that individual do what appeared to be changing and then put a bundle in those bushes, where did you see him go? He came out and then went into what was then the main entrance, which was this. So he ran down the sidewalk and into that entrance. Okay. And when he ran down the sidewalk, did he pass right by your vehicle? He would have, yes. Thinking nothing of it, the family heads back home.

Later that night, it would become clear to them exactly what it is they saw that day. Specifically later that evening, did you learn about a 14-year-old boy from Danbers High School who was reported missing? Yes, I did. And how did you find out about that? My older daughter told me. Did she tell you where she had learned that information? She saw it on Twitter.

And did she show you any tweets that she had seen on Twitter? She showed me the tweet from the Damors police. And when you saw that tweet, do you remember the information that it contained? That there was a boy from the high school that was missing? And were there any photographs attached to that tweet? Yes, there was. Carolyn and her younger daughter Emma

realized that they spotted the missing boy that day changing in the bushes. Did you have any reaction to it? Yes, we both recognize it as the boy we that I had seen at the school that day. What did you do after you saw that tweet? Short discussion with my husband about about what I should do and then I call the Daerrist police to let them know that I had seen him that day in the bushes. With all the attention focused on the missing boy who's only 14, a secondary

story takes a backseat in the media. You see, someone else is missing. A teacher. This is Andrew Giaquinta. He's testifying about his wife's friend Colleen. Andrew is a systems engineer at Hewlett Packard. His wife Sarah is a math teacher at Danvers High, just like the missing teacher. How did you know her? Primarily through my wife Sarah. She was a friend and so I just said a colleague of hers at Danvers High School. So I knew her sometimes outside of school through social gatherings where my wife was together with her. And on the evening of October 22nd, were you and your wife home?

Yes. At some point, without going into anything that was said, did you take a phone call? She did, I did not. OK. And after that phone call, what did you do? We went to Danvers High School to look for calling. And how long does it take to get from your home, or did it take at that time to get from

your home in Pivoty to Danvers High School? Somewhere around 15 minutes, 10-15 minutes. When you arrived at Danvers High School, what if anything did you observe around the school ground? We saw Collins car there, but otherwise there was no sign of her. And were you ultimately able to get into the school ground. We saw Colleen's car there, but otherwise there was no sign of her. And were you ultimately able to get into the school building? Yes, once the principal Sue arrived, we were able to get inside the high school. And what role, if any, did you play at that time in the school building? At the time in the school building, we kind of just went to look around classrooms to see if we could further find the locations of Colleen.

Andrew, his wife Sarah and principal Susan Ambrosevich, find no signs of Colleen in the school. So they start looking around outside. And can you describe for the jury what search you conducted at the perimeter of the school building? Sure. Myself taught Butterworth and the police officer Stephanie I believe was her name. We began walking around the outside of the school just to look for any sign of Colleen at that point.

There had been mention that maybe there were some clothes around so we started looking along the side of the school primarily and then kind of just worked our way around the outside of the school along the woods line. It's not long before a significant police presence arrives and begins an investigation. This is Officer Steve Baldassari, one of the first officers to arrive on the scene. When you arrived, who did you make contact with? The telephone was with Miss Carolyn and Erin Quigley.

Carolyn and Erin Quigley? And Erin, yes. OK. And without going into anything that they said, did you then have a conversation with them. Yes. So at this point, you haven't even made contact with anyone at the school.

You're just receiving information through dispatch, correct? Yes. Yes. Once you finish those two phone calls, what was the next person you made contact with? I then entered the school. It made contact with the school principals, Susan and Roosevelt.

And were you able to gather some information regarding what was going on? Yes. Officer Baldessari's role is information regarding what was going on? Yes. Officer Baldessari's role is pretty stress-free most of the time. I'm currently assigned to the juvenile division. And what does that mean? I mean, a school resource officer for all of the schools that are in the town of Dammers. And fair to say, many of your responsibilities are fairly mundane.

Day to day Maintaining school safety and dealing with any issues that may come from the school. Yes, but today wasn't like every other day Officer Baldissari's main concern that day was the school's surveillance system Which had been recently installed after a complete remodel of the high school What did you do at that point in the school or on the school grounds at that point my? Did you do at that point in the school or on the school grounds? At that point, my idea was to go to the videos surveillance system to try to find any information that could assist with the patrol division search of the 14 year old missing and also now with the teacher. How many cameras were involved in the video surveillance system?

There's a total of 140 cameras. We use video insight as the software. Cameras are globe-styled ceiling, motion-detected cameras that are placed throughout the school. 140 cameras. Surely, an easy task to find out what happened to the missing teenager and teacher. Well, maybe not. And are all of the cameras produced by the same manufacturer? The same manufacturer, yes, but they're numerous companies that play a part in the camera system,

including the ton of damers and the school system. And did that initially pose any difficulties when the camera system first wanted to use that fall of 2013? Yes, numerous issues. Okay. And in the fall of 2013, where the camera is numbered in any manner. They were not numbered in any order that would make sense to anybody that would be using them. They were not named at that time to make any sense to anybody that's using them. It was basically the start of the program.

So it's how that they initially entered them into the system and then it was up to us as the school eventually to start to name them where were they where the cameras are located and how we would use them by the location. Officer Baldesari had trouble accessing the 140 camera system from his aging computer. And where did you go in the building? To my office. Do you have a computer in your office? Yes.

What was the quality and age of the computer in your office at that time? Very old computer, new software system. And how did those two things interact? Not very well. OK. What difficulties were you having at that time trying to access the video system? Any type of video that I tried to pull up to view with either freeze, crash, or it would skip out and it would change cameras.

So it was very difficult to try to find information specifically because the cameras aren't named in the locations that I know of, sort of follow what I was trying to do. I had to use an actual paper map and try to use the codes that they were using to try to figure out what camera and we are in the building I was. So you knew what area of the building you wanted to look for, but figuring out what camera covered that area of the building was difficult. That's correct. And even if you could get the cameras to play, then the system would crash or freeze. Yes, it would freeze. How long did you spend initially in your office struggling with the surveillance system? A good amount

of time until Captain Ambrose arrived. Thirty-year veteran and acting chief of police, Patrick Ambrose, arrives at the scene and begins assessing the situation. After I arrived, I had a brief conversation with Sidestown. I entered to the high school and had further conversation with Officer Baldasari. And where was Officer Baldasari in the building at that time? He was inside on the first floor in an office area. And is that his office if you know? Yes it is.

Would you be able to see what he was doing? Yes I did. He was working on the video system for the cameras inside the school. At that point when you first arrived and first made contact with Officer Baldassari, were you able to see any of the video from the school at that time? No I did not. And why was that? The system was not working or functioning properly.

It was freezing and Officer Paul the Saturday was trying to get it up and running properly. While he worked on that, what did you go to? While we were speaking and he was working on that, he had informed me that Officer Wendoverg was outside walking the perimeter of the high school. And did you then go to the outside area? Yes, we were called by Officer Weneberg that she had discovered something and she was asking for Officer Maldissari to come outside to see it. Did she have anything with her?

She was carrying a black purse. first. Andrew Giacuenta makes a terrible discovery in the woods near the school right by the field house. I'd mentioned me looking just along the edge of the school here and then we worked our way around the edge of the woods line here and seated across the field went around to right around here and at that point Mr. Butterworth and Stephanie had moved along to this side and I was around where it's like a path entrance to the woods and there's some rocks there and that's how we first found a sign of Colleen between the rocks stuffed in between some leaves we found

what was her purse. And what did you do when you first saw the purse? I picked it up. I pulled it out of the leaves there. I'm trying to determine what it was. Was it just trash or something? And at that point, a yelled over to Todd and Stephanie. There was still within voice distance and they came back. And at that point, we opened it up.

And so I think it was a paste out or something. And then that identified there was Colleen's purse. And to whom if anyone did you turn over the purse at that point? The police officer. Where did you go Matt? Mr. Diacosta? After that we started walking into the woods a little bit and just looking through the immediate area underneath the tree line for any further pieces of Colleen's clothes or anything like that and Todd Mr. Byerworth called me over and he had found on the ground some white gloves that have a lot on them as well as when we looked in the immediate vicinity there were also some looks like some paper towels or other remnants and at that point we then spoke to told Stephanie and vacated from the

area. Chief of Police Patrick Ambrose and officer Baldassari head outside to rendezvous with the search team. What if anything you have officer Wineberg do at that time? He directed officer Wineberg and officer Baldassari have the purse placed back down on the ground at that point in time and officer, uh, canine officer Justin Ellenton was, uh, then responded to the scene. Danvers canine police officer Justin Ellenton and his trusty dog Falco expand the search. The dog picks up a cent immediately. Officer Ellenton in that area of leaves next to the big boulder did Faco come upon any other items. He did. Can you just ride that for the jury please? Just next to the where we located the purple bag to the left of the

left boulder. There were a pair of soccer cleats, men's soccer cleats, and a pair of ladies, black, flat shoes. Were they readily apparent anywhere they were sitting on? Were they visible to the naked eye before felt they located them? No. Why was that? They were covered with leaves. And again, with respect to those items officer, Alanton, did you just preserve them and then leave them for someone else to collect? I did. What other kinds of items did you discover? In the gully that we discussed earlier,

there was a clothing strune within that gully. And where was it with respect to the recycling barrel? So the recycling barrel, if I'm looking into the gully, was at the beginning of the gully on the left, and the clothes were strewn to the right of it. Where were they, meaning were they suspended, or were they in the ground? Some of them were suspended due to the thick foliage,

the prickabushes, and they were, I believe, a couple of items on the actual floor of the gully. And were you able to identify what types of clothing items they were? Somewhat, yes. And you indicated that they had blood on them, is that fair to say? Yes, some of them did. And what did you observe that led you to believe they had blood on them? Well, for instance, a pair of jeans I could tell had blood on them.

Are there other kinds of dogs? Obviously, there are other kinds of dogs. Are there dogs trained in other areas as well? Yes, ma'am. And can you explain that to the jury? So we only have one cadaver dog, and they find human remains. So basically any deceased person, they'll be able to locate, not live people. And did you take steps to have that dog come as well?

Yes. In the field, they find blood-soaked genes, a sock, and a pair of black ladies pants. Sages Stonehead, going to look at another area or town. Officer Winnaburg, I requested that she take a look farther down the fence line by the dumpster area, by the field house area, the seafthorough, any other items that were down there. I then, along with Officer Elantin and Officer Balda Sari, I followed the K9 dog as he conducted a search of the area. In the gully where the clothing was found, there is also a note that says, I hate you all, and a large recycling bin, the kind with wheels and a pull handle.

And what if anything, did you observe when you went out to the student teacher parking lot? Um, officer Stephanie Wannabear, a holding, calling Rootsers Blackbag. And, um, where did you go back into the school at that point, Officer Stephanie Weneberg holding Colleen Rootser's black bag. And Where did you go back into the school at that point or did you participate in looking in the area around the entrance to the orchards and where the utility area? I assisted Ken and officer Elantin and Captain Ambrose with the track of the K9 dog. At that point at least sir, were you the only person on scene who had experience in the criminal investigations division? At that point, at least, sir, were you the only person on scene who had experience in

the criminal investigation's division? At that point, yes. Okay. And just to be clear, criminal investigation is a detective's division, is that correct? That's correct. Okay. And what if anything, did you observe Officer Allenton and his canine to locate? Officer Allenton and canine falco located recycling bin, some clothing, some sneakers, some shoes

up in that pathway that I showed on the video that led into the orchards. From that field that you was used at that time for pop-winter and things. That's correct. Not the pathway up by the field house. Correct. And when those items were discovered, did you have an opportunity to observe the condition of those items?

Yes, I did. And based on that, at that point, what steps did you take? At that point, Sergeant Tansy and Detective Sullivan arrived. So at that point, I was assigned to go back to the school to continue what I was originally going to the school to do Look primarily at the video clip. Yes And were you have did you have any more success on the second time now when you returned into the building to look at the video clip

Very little at first, but as the night went on I started to get more and more with more time familiarize yourself with how this the corpse of the system and how it worked? With the video surveillance, when you would click on towards a camera, it would show you what that camera is pointed towards, and I would try to line up the times that's that I could to play what that camera captured in those two time frames. And were you present or was your attention directed after the fact to the items that the canine dog located with us are all intent? Yes, it was. And did you have an opportunity yourself to examine in particular the recycling barrel

and the clothing that was found in the prick of us? Yes, I did. Based on those discoveries Chief Ambrose did you take steps to involve other dambers personnel? Yes I did. Can you describe for the very what you did? We called in the detective's division a requested sergeant Phil Tancy, the respond and to bring additional resources with him, then I further requested additional officers that respond down to the scene.

Officers who were then working for Danvers on that shift or other officers. The ones that are currently working on the shift at that time, eventually we called in additional officers from the oncoming shift. But initially it was essentially all hands on back for those who were already working. That is correct. What they found was the worst case scenario. And some time later, or were you notified that calling ritzler had been located in the woods? Yes I was.

And were you present along with state police officers to make the notification to the Ritzer family back at the police station? Yes. Colleen Ritzer, the 24-year-old teacher, was dead. But where was Philip Chisholm? At some point, without going into anything where you told, were you notified through dispatch that Philip Chisholm had been located in Totsfield? Yes, I was. After all, there was still a missing 14 year old boy out there. As

result of a missing persons report filed with the Davis Police Department, late yesterday afternoon, the Davis police initiated an investigation to locate a 14 year old male who had not returned home from Davis High School earlier in the day. It approached me 11, 20 pm last evening. The Davis Police received a report that a Danvers High School teacher had not returned home from work. It was not answering her cell phone.

As a result of that report, Danvers Police initiated a search for the teacher and discovered blood in the second floor bathroom at Danvers High School. The school was immediately secured. This is Jamie Mendalto, a 911 dispatcher with a Danvers police. Sir, drawing your attention to October 22nd of 2013, were you working that regular 5-1 shift? Yes.

Sir, on the evening of October 22nd, did you receive a call regarding a philipchism? Yes. Do you know about what time you received the call? About 6.30 p.m. And who was the caller? I believe it was a Diannichism the mother. And just generally what was the nature of her call? She wanted to report that her son was missing or overdue at home. And is that an unusual call for you to get? No, no. We get calls from parents that they have children and haven't come home and so we have them come into the station and we ask them bring a picture of their child and fill out a missing person

report. And did you do that with Mrs. Chisholm? Yes. And did she provide you with a date of birth and a description for her son Philip? Yes. What do you do with that information? I put that information out to the office of sound patrol so that they can start looking for the person. And I notify the officer at the front desk and the officer in charge.

And then we take that information for a juvenile and enter it as a missing person into the computer right away. And what effect, if you know does it have to enter it into the computer? Who else can see it then? That way surrounding towns, if they come across the person, when they run the person through the computer, they can see that person is a missing person that we are looking for that person. And in addition, sir, do you have, are there any malls either in the town of Danvers or right nearby? Yes, there's the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers and the North Shore Mall. And based on your experience with missing teenagers, do you take any steps with respect to the two malls when you get a report of a missing teenager? Yes, yeah, I

call them all security, I'll let them know who we're looking for. And to the best of your knowledge through to the Danvers, police have a Twitter page, any Facebook page. Yes, and I notified the sages on duty that we should have this picture put on the Facebook so that people could get that in social media and know that we should have this picture put on the Facebook so people could get that in social media and know that we have a missing person. This is Lawrence Nester. He's an emergency center officer and a reserve patrolman for the neighboring town of Toppsfield, just north of Danvers.

On the night of October 22nd, were you aware of anything going on in the town nearby? Yeah, within the dispatch center we would monitor the radio traffic from the towns that are around us and we were you know heard Danvers was looking for us missing student for a better part of the night. And at some point did you hear other personnel being dispatched to Danvers? I think it was a bottle must have been about just about a half hour before I left for the night the state police seepack unit was called into the woods behind the Denver's high school. Sir, what was your concern when you heard State Police CPAC being dispatched to the Amherst?

It means it, to us it means that there's a dead body that they have to deal with. And who did you, who were you concerned that body was at that time? I believe it was the missing student from the inverse. Did you get off right around midnight that night? I did. The other dispatcher came on at 12 and I talked for maybe 10 or 15 minutes and then I left at that point. Around midnight, Lawrence's shift is over and he goes home for the night. And in his patrol car, he drives along Route 1.

It's a two-lane road. It's a 50-mile-hour road. a 50 mile an hour road. It's just long and straight. What's the lighting like? Not very many street lights. There's no sidewalks or street lights. It's just kind of a poorly lit section of road. And is it a business area, residential area? From that stretch, it's primarily woods and there's a one farmhouse up on on each side of Ruwan as you approach Danvers so it's not populated. And as you were driving away from the police station did something catch your attention? Yeah it was as I was cresting the hill right as you leave the station I just saw to my

out of my out of my right side I saw a black male walking along. He was walking on the southbound side of the highway. And where was he with respect to the highway? He wasn't walking next to what he was off. There's a section of woods and stone wall. He was off to the right next to the wall. And what if anything, did you do as a result of seeing that? Actually, I just looked out a place to me, so I just continued on. I went up over the hill turned around and came back. And as I came back, I just kind of glanced to my left. And I noticed that he was walking away from that one farmhouse.

And he was continuing to walk along the stone wall off the highway as he was walking away from that one farmhouse and he was continuing to walk along the stone wall on the, I don't know, off the highway as he was going northbound at that point. Okay. And what if anything, did you do that? At that point, I called the station to let them know that just didn't look right. There was something out of place.

There was a guy walking along wood line, along one. And did you have any further involvement that night? No. Toppsfield, Patrolman Neil Hovey, reports to a shift and is acutely aware that there's a missing teen in the neighboring town. He decides that the first thing he'll do tonight is search for him along the rail trail, which crosses right by Danvers High School and extends all the way up through Toppsfield. It was a concern, parent. I have children of my own. The cruiser that I was assigned to has a thermal imaging camera on it.

So I decided to pry it to my shift that I would go out and in the area of the Vail Trail and Toppsfield, I would check that area and see if I could identify anything. And did you ultimately end up doing that? No, I never made it out of the driveway. Patrolman Huffie gets word that CPAC was called to the school. He assumes this means there's a body and he assumes It's that of the teenager. I had believed at that time that the search had ended And I specifically said to the dispatcher, I can't believe a 14 year olds life would be that bad that he would kill

himself. So that was sort of your working assumption at that time. At that time it was. And at that point what did you go about doing in terms of working your shift? I turned around in the driveway. I went back to the station and we have housekeeping chores that we did. I started doing some of those chores in the garage. Okay. At some point were you dispatched to respond to something? Yes, I was. And what was that?

It was a report that there was a black male walking northbound on Route 1 in the southbound lane. Is there anything of concern to you as a top-to-please officer about people walking on Route 1? There's always a concern. And can you explain that? Well, it's just a two-lane road, not very well lit in certain areas. There's no sidewalk and the majority of the roadway. The speed of the vehicles, so we consider it not a safe place to walk. And what type of action do you typically take with respect to pedestrians on route one?

We encourage them to either we'll give them a ride off the roadway or to find another path. Petrolman-Havi responds to render assistance to the person walking alongside the poorly lit Tulane highway. I immediately got my cruiser and came out of the police station driveway and then turned right now going southbound on Route 1. And do you know about what time this was that you got the call about southbound on Route 1. And do you know about what time this was

that you got the call about someone walking on Route 1? I believe the dispatch time was around 1228 in the morning. 28 past the hour. So this probably goes without saying but what was the lighting like out at 1228 in the morning? It was dark. And when you left the station, did you know where your fellow officer of Dubernardo was? He was with me at the station. In the same cruiser? No, and a different

cruise. We were in the garage together. Okay. Okay. And typically for a call like that, would you both respond? Yes, the two patrol cars spot the man. And what caused you to stop at that two tenths of a mile mark? As I was proceeding to the area, when I was driving up the hill southbound, I had the last minute observed a black male that was at an indentation of the God rail. It's too dangerous to stop at first, so Petrolman Havi passes the man and turns his patrol car around. I did a three point turn and then I came back Northbound in the Northbound lane. Officer Havi, I think I got a little bit ahead of us, but you indicated you did a three

point turn and you pulled over. What did the male do when you pulled over? When I put over, he stopped as well. Okay. And He's now on the other side of the highway from you That is correct. Too late. Highway. Don't blame. Yes. He's in the South plane. I'm in the North. Okay And did you get out of your cruiser? Yes, I did. Where did you go? I When it was safe, I crossed the street to the South Bombay As you approached the male were you able to see what he was wearing? As I approached he is. What was he wearing?

He had a turquoise full zippered hooded sweatshirt, a black shirt, black shorts, a knee high length socks. He had a blue Adidas sneakers with a greenish yellowish stripe on the sneakers, and he also had a red and black nylon pole string backpack. At that point, could you see whether there was anything around his neck? Around his neck, when I got closer, I could see there was pull down, there was a clump of clothing that we learned to be a ski mask. And what was the temperature like, if you recall that, anything? It was cool. I believe it was 47 degrees.

And when you approached the male in what direction was he looking? He was facing northbound. Continuing to look up, root one. Yes. Essentially looking the point of view of the person who took that picture. That's just correct. OK.

And where were you with respect to him? Where did you position yourself? I don't his right side. So you're essentially talking to his right shoulder and his profile? Is that fair to say? Yes, about, you know, four or five feet away from him. And what if any communication did you have with him at that time?

I asked him where he was going. And what did he tell you? He said, no where. And what else did you ask him? I then asked him where he was coming from. And he stated Tennessee. And based on the condition of his clothing, did it appear to you he'd been out for a long time?

I know it did. What other further questions did you ask him at that time? I again asked them, because those were not typical responses. I again asked them where he was going, and he again stated nowhere. And what was the lighting like in the area where you were making contact with this mail this time? It was dark.

Were you able to see his face? Yes, I was. Now, sir, at some point had Officer Dibernato arrived? Yes. And did he join in your conversation with the defendant? Yes, he did. Can you just describe any further conversation you had with the defendant for specifically yourself? I asked him where he lived and he stated he has no address.

Did you ask him anything at that time about who he was? I asked him if he had an ID on him. And what did he tell you? No. Did in your ear shot officer DiBernardo ask him anything? And when officer DiBernardo arrived he asked him to take his hands out of his pockets. And which pockets were his hands in? In his sweatshirt pocket. Okay. And did a defendant respond? Yes he did. Meaning he took his hands out of his pockets. Yes. Okay, and did officer DiBernardo ask him anything else?

He asked them what was in the backpack? How big of a backpack was it meaning how full? It was a full image. Okay, and what did the defendant say when officer DiBernardo asked him what was in the backpack? He said his survival gear. You really can't get more suspicious than how this young man is acting. It's almost like he's resigned himself to the fact that he's going to be taken into custody. At that point, sir, what did you do with respect to the defendant?

At that point, my partner took the backpack from the body. Okay. And did you do anything ultimately with respect to the defendant's person? After that, we, because the doc natures of the road, we escorted it on across the street to a safer location for us between the two police cruisers. Okay, and what was safer about that location between the two police cruisers? We had the emergency lighting, we had the protection

of the police cars. Okay, and what if anything, did you do with respect to the defendant when you reached the other side of the road? We had him stand at the trunk of the first police officer, my police officer, between the two cars. At the trunk of your cruiser before the hood of Officer Nipanardo's cruiser? Yes. Okay. And what happened next?

At that time, I asked him to remove the contents from his pockets and put them along the trunk of my cousin. And did he do that? Yes, he did. And when you say pockets, which pockets are we talking about? And he's the pockets of his shorts? How did you know that there was anything in the pockets of his shorts?

On the other side of the street, I did a pat frisk of his front left and right pockets. And what had you felt when you touched the area of the defendant's short pockets? In the left front pocket, it was a hard plastic, similar to an identification card or a credit card who's a hard piece of plastic.

And in the other pocket, what did you feel? There was a oblonged object, hard oblong object in the white pocket. And ultimately, when the defendant took the things out of his pocket on the hood of your, on the hood of Officer DiBanardo's cruiser, rather, what did those objects prove to be? One of the hard plastic objects? There was tomb massages, it's drivers licenses, there was credit cards, and there was an insurance

card. And the other pocket was the hard, almond logic, I'm trying to out to be a rock. The prosecution enters the credit and identification cards found on the suspect into evidence. And are those the cards and identifications that you found in the defendant's pocket the early morning of October 23rd? Yes it is. And whose Massachusetts identification and driver's license are those? Colleen Ritzer.

At that time, through to that name, I've been meeting you. No, I did not. When those items came out of the defendant's pocket, what if anything, did you or I officer D. Bernardo ask him? After I examined the IDs, I looked at the party and I asked them what is your name? And what did he tell you? Philip Chisholm. And did that name have any significance to you?

Yes, it did. How did you recognize that name? By what my daughter had told me before I left for work. You remember that to be the missing teen out of Danvers? That is correct. Did that knowledge in any way change the encounter you were having with the defendant? Well I went from concern for my own safety to a almost apparent mode where I really couldn't believe I was just belief that I had found the missing 14 year old and that I was able to bring a 14 year old safely to his parents.

And what steps did you take in order to go about making that happen at that time? At that time, we asked them a few more questions, but then we At that time, we asked them a few more questions, but then my partner said to him, what do you get warm and sit in the back seat of the cruise and we're going to bring you to the police station. And when you say you asked a few more questions, what were those questions about?

We asked them where he got these identifications. And what did he tell you? He stated he found them. Did one of you ask him further questions about that? We both did. I asked him where he found them, and he stated stop and shop. Do you know where the closest stop and shop is to where you stopped him?

It's in Gambas, about three miles away. And was there any further questioning about that? My partner asked him which stop and shop, and he said, I do not know. After the conversation about the identifications coming from stop and shop, was there any further conversation with the defendant at the roadside? I asked him again, where he got these,

and he said, from her cow. Problem is, Colleen's car was back at the school where she had left it. At 12.30 this morning, Tossville police responded to reports that a pedestrian is walking north in the southbound lane of Route 1. Officers approached the pedestrian and soon realized he was the person that was the subject of the Damvis Police Alert. The juvenile was transported to Danvas police station Philip is transported to the police station where a thorough examination of his backpack is conducted And did you have any conversation with him about his backpack at that time?

I asked him if there's anything dangerous in the backpack that would cause harm to myself And is that a routine question you asked before in mentoring anything? Yes it is. And what if anything did the defendant respond? He stated to yes. Now you would indicate that on the side of a road the defendant was not making eye contact with you is that cracked? That is correct. In the station where was he looking? Well, straight ahead. But he indicated yes there was something in the back pack. Is that cracked? Yes. What if anything did you do at that time? I grew a little more concerned about what was dangerous about it. I put on a pair of gloves and then

it was a like a pull string. So I started inching it open so I could see the inside of the contents. And as you opened it, what was the first item that you were able to see and retrieve? And white wallet. And what kind of a wallet was it? Well, the purse died on white wallet. Did it appear female? Or I'm not asking you the brand, I promise.

Did it appear female? Not female, yes. And did you notice anything about the condition of the wallet? Nothing out of the ordinary. What if anything did you do at that time with respect to the wallet? I placed that on the counter. Okay. What was the next thing that you did? There's a multi-coloured actually vera-bradly soft, zippet case that I removed. Then there was a white and I blew with white stripe night shirt, athletic shirt that was specifically sized large. It's in 14 to 16 on it. There was a sheer underwear in the color of bluish greenish color. There

was pool camellback water bottles, a set of kings. There was blue, camellaback, water bottles, ascetic keys. There was two rolls of two inch tape, one roll being black and white. The other roll being red and like a duct tape. Similar to a duct tape. There was a set of keys. There was a white towel.

There was a flashlight. There was orange white towel. There was a flashlight. There was orange and black. There was what I would consider a scuba diving knife that was in a sheath. Was it in any kind of packaging? No, it was a, like it goes around your waist, so I had a sheath and the knife was inside the sheath. And as you removed each of these items from the bag, where did you place them? Place them on the counter. And were there other sort of miscellaneous items in the bag as well?

Yes, there was. What kinds of things were they? Miscellaneous papers in other contents. And once the bag was emptied, what did you do next? At that time, I opened up the white purse, the white wallet. That first item you had removed. Yes. And when you opened that, what did you observe?

I observed a box cutter. And what if anything, did you notice about the condition of the box cutter? That the blade was still protruding out and it had a reddish brownish colored substance on the box cutter. And as you observe that, what if anything did you do? Then I asked him, who his blood is this? And how did he respond? He said, it's the girls.

So, had you picked it up or done anything to display it to him at that time? No, I had the wallet and my hand and the box cutter was in the wallet. And after he said it's the girls, what if anything did you do? We stopped everything. And did you remain in the room at that time? At that time my partner read him as my random grades. And where did you go? I stayed there for that process. And once that process was complete, what did you do? Then I left the room and went into the

dispatch area. And what was your purpose in doing that? To call a gambist police and tell them what we had found. When you returned to the room, did you have an opportunity to make any further observations of the defendant's person or the condition of his clothing? On my partner, I brought to my attention two pieces of clothing. The jacket that he was wearing, the sweatshirt that he was wearing in the sneakers. And what did you notice about the jacket and the sneakers? Or the sweatshirt and the sneakers. And what did you notice about the jacket and the sneaker or the sweatshirt and the sneakers? At that time my partner had taken those two objects away from the defendant and then he pointed out to me the similar brown ridgers stains that were on the

jacket and also the same similar stains on the sneakers. And when you say similar do you mean similar to those on the box cutter? Yes. If you've ever used a box cutter, you know exactly how sharp the blade can be. It's a razor blade attached to a sturdy metal handle. There is a lot of damage you can inflict with it. When the box cutter is displayed as evidence in the courtroom, the jury is taken aback by the writing on it, a remnant of an earlier time.

On one side of the box cutter, with a black sharpie, someone has written, for Phil, first, tool. The prosecutor turns the item over to expose additional writing on the other side, which says, don't cut your arm off. Sir, is this essentially the condition of the blade when you opened the wallet that early morning? Yes, it was. And the writing on this side of the box cutter was that writing already present when you found it Who's already present Turning the box cutter over

Was that writing also present when you found the box cutter that early morning? Yes, it was Did you notice at that time Officer hubby the red brand marks that are on some of these items. I do not. Thank you. What would make this boy who obviously received this first tool as a gift from possibly a parent or a grandparent? Use it to take an innocent life.

His first tool used for his first murder. The defense team tries to paint a picture of a disturbed young man, possibly suffering from some uncontrollable mental illness unaware and not responsible for his actions. It appeared to be staring off in the distance. Yes. And we were able to see his face during this encounter. I was standing to the side of him and then I, and there was some front facing. So, yes. And did you notice anything else about his facial expression

while you were sitting there? Nothing out of the ordinary. But he just kept staring. Yes. Would you characterize him as a dazed? There's still that he wasn't understanding And you came back to the same question again pretty quickly, right? Yes, I'm a second time. That's correct And again, he said nowhere

correct And then you had some more conversation with them on the other side of the road you move them over there between the cruisers, right? That's correct. You gave them instructions? That's correct. Empty as pockets. That's correct. And when you did that, did he look at you? He looked straight ahead but he was compliant. So he's continuing, and what direction is he looking while you're getting in those instructions straight ahead? Well, what what what what direction is he facing? Uh, northbound. And that the car trunk is in front of him? That's correct.

He's not looking side to side. No, he's not. Where was your partner while you were giving in those instructions? He was behind him to his left side. Was he speaking at all? He did. Did he turn toward your partner when your partner spoke? No, he did not.

But he complied with your instructions? Yes, he did. And then, forgive me if you already said this, but who's broken back to the station, which car was he in? I did, sir. All right. So, are you allowing the car with him at the end? I did sir. All right. So are you alone in the car with him at that point?

Yes sir. All right. I assume he's in the back seat. Yes sir. All right. Did you try to make any conversation with him? No I did not sir. All right.

Did he say anything? No he did not. He just sat there. Yes he did. And when you were putting him in the car, did he turn to you or ask you anything? My partner put him in the car. Did you watch it? Yes.

OK. And how did you respond with your partner moving him into the back seat of the car? My partner said to him, let's get you warm, sit in the back seat of the car, and he said, OK, boy, yes. He said, OK? Yes. to the cruiser and he said okay, boy yes. He said okay?

Yes. Okay. And then somebody had to help him up the stairs in the station from the garage up into the booking area. It's not among customary for us. All right. So was there any conversation with him then? No, there was not.

So from the moment you first approach him on the street until you're up in the booking area and going through his inventory in his property more or less in front of them, the only thing you ever set up at that point was okay. Other than answering the questions. And then answer your questions then he answered your question, your direct question. Yes sir. OK. So you look through the things you found in the backpack, correct? Correct. OK. And you identified what the different paper items were, correct?

Correct. You notice the receipts and the, you notice the person's name on them, correct? Correct. When you're going through those papers, was there any contact information for anybody else? Among those papers. Not that I've been called.

Oh, a dress? Was there a phone number on a piece of paper or anything like that? Nothing I recall, sir. And, um, well, one, one of the things you wanted to know was where was he going, right? That was your first question to him. Yes. But there was nothing you found in those papers that indicated that he had somebody who was going to meet or some place he was going to. That's correct. Somebody who's going to call? That's correct.

He's just walking north on Route 1. That's correct. What's up there? The National Community would be Ipswich. And that's a fairly rural area also. He'll be walking along with one. Yes sir. And the further you go, the more rural it gets as an affair.

Yes sir. All right. I think you said that when your partner asked him in your presence, what was in the bag that he did he used the expression survival gear? Yes, he did. Could you characterize that scuba knife as a survival knife? Yes, I could. And in that bag, I'm not going to ask you to throw it. Was there some hand warmers in there?

Yes, there was. There's anything else you could think of as something somebody would take another wilderness with them? Nothing that I haven't already identified. Some hand warmers, a scuba knife, box cutter, and some credit cards from a dead woman. Surely not the best plan, but not every crime has to have a mastermind. Did staring off into the distance and not having a particularly good plan prove that philipsism was insane was not responsible for his own actions. Back at the school, there was even more chilling evidence against the 14-year-old.

And, sir, fair to say that since that time in the two years since then you've become very familiar with the video footage from starting in the early morning and then primarily in the afternoon about October 22nd at Danvers High School. Yes. And particularly with respect to video footage from the time when Colleen Ritzer left her classroom to go to the bathroom and the next eight or nine pieces of video footage after that you're very familiar with those. Is that correct? Yes. And are they a fair and accurate depiction of what the cameras captured in the hallways of Danbers High School at that time? Yes. Once again, Chief Ambrose.

And Chief Ambrose at some point where you asked to go back into the building to go and talk about the sorry's office. Yes it was. And was officer head officer of all the sorry been successful in pulling up some video. Yes he did. And what video did you observe at that time? A video of Colleen entering the second floor bathroom and then being followed in by the defendant. Next time, on sword and scale.

Today we heard from investigators he has been telling much of what happened, what he says happened at least to them. He began talking as soon as they picked him up and has made several and pivoting statements And did she make any specific statement about why the boy in her classroom was there? She said I don't know why he is here. He was looking down the ground He kind of seemed a little bit down and down, I guess you could say approximately 11 minutes Then went by where there was no footage of those bathrooms. Is that crap? Yes.

So, her body was intact and it seemed to be covered with organic debris, so leaves, pine needles, dirt. The Amos Police initiated a search for the teacher and discovered blood in the second floor bathroom at Danvers High School. Make no mistake about it. The order of this court will be enforced. In her family statement her absence is always felt and that absence grows stronger with each event. Her laugh and her smile are always missing. That does it for this episode of Sword and Scale, but do not fret.

Park Two of this story is available right now to Patreon supporters. For as little as $2 a month, you can get instant access and help support your favorite show. You can find us at patreon.com slash sword and scale. Thank you for your support. For everybody else, we'll see you next time on April 24th for part two of this story. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Leave us a review on iTunes. And until next time, stay safe. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, you