Judge: Releasing Records Could Prejudice Case, Invade Privacy of Ritzer Family

Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office has released the decision handed down in court Friday from Judge Michael Lauranzano.

Lauranzano denied appeals from several news organizations to unseal court records related to a search warrant in the murder case of Colleen Ritzer, who was allegedly killed by 14-year-old student Philip Chism.

Normally those records would be available for public viewing, unless authorities and the court agreed there were good cause to temporarily impound the material.

Lauranzano, in the three-page decision, said he agreed that full release of the documents could prejudice the ongoing grand jury investigation, influence juvenile witnesses and invade the privacy rights of Ritzer's family.

"Some of these witnesses are not equipped to handle the media attention that will be drawn to them as soon as their identities are revealed," Lauranzano said, adding that Ritzer's family also only learned of some of the unreleased sensitive information in the case just days after her funeral.

"Release of this information now, without some additional time for the Ritzer family to come to terms with this horrific event, seems to me, to be unconscionable," he said.

You can read the document by clicking on the "Download PDF" link above.