UPDATED: Defense Rests in Philip Chism Murder Trial

Photo Credit: 7News/whdh.com

SALEM, MA - The defense rests on Tuesday morning in the Philip Chism murder trial, according to 7News/whdh.com. The prosecution called several rebuttal witnesses to the stand on Tuesday.

Chism, 16, is the Danvers teen and former Danvers High School student, accused of raping and murdering his math teacher, Colleen Ritzer, 24, of Andover, in 2013.

The jury will likely begin their deliberations on the fate of Chism this week.They will have to decide if Chism was hearing voices the day he killed Ritzer, according to wcvb.com.

Ritzer’s body was found in woods near the school. Chism’s lawyers do not dispute Chism killed Ritzer; they are trying to convince the jury that the teen was not sane at the time of the murders.

Judge David Lowy told jurors that they should expect to receive the case for deliberations either Thursday or Friday, according to CNN.com.