Dartmouth Murders

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The Dartmouth Murders were the double homicide of married victims Half Zantop (born April 24, 1938) and Susanne Zantop (born Susanne Korsukwitz on August 12, 1945), Dartmouth College professors originally from Germany, who were killed at their home in Etna, New Hampshire on January 27, 2001. Each of them had been teaching at the Ivy League college in Hanover since the 1970s. High school classmates James J. Parker, age 16, and 17 year old Robert W. Tulloch were charged with their murders after investigators traced the sheaths of two SEAL 2000 knives found at the crime scene to Parker. [1] The knives had been purchased online. [2]

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[edit] Half and Susanne Zantop

Both native Germans, Half and Susanne met while studying at Stanford University in the mid-1960s. Fascinated with geology, Half had earned a bachelor's degree from Freiburg University, while Susanne was working on her master's degree in political science. After Half achieved a geology Ph.D in 1969 and worked as a field geologist, he and Susanne were married in 1970 [1]. They had two daughters Veronika and Marianna. Susanne taught in the German department at Dartmouth College and was chairwoman of that faculty. Half was popular among many of his students. In the months leading up to their death, they had begun contemplating retirement. Ironically, their murder came upon the day of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Germany. They were known by a number colleagues and students to be politically active and felt that Germany should admit to its past.

[edit] The murders

Robert Tulloch and James Parker, both students at Chelsea High School, went to the Zantop residence on the morning of January 27, 2001. Posing as students doing research for a school survey, their modus operandi was to take the occupants by surprise, threaten them into telling them their PINs, kill them, take their money, and leave. Being one who often welcomed young people into his home, Half allowed them inside, while Susanne prepared lunch. According to his confession, Parker admitted that Zantop was "an alright guy" and that they didn't need to kill him. Tulloch, on the other hand, was thinking the exact opposite, especially when the professor of earth science told him that he had to come more prepared. Being arrogant, Tulloch believed that his comments, however well-intentioned, were a slap in the face. While Half turned his back to look for a phone number, he took his SOG knife and stabbed Half repeatedly in the chest; cutting his leg accidentally in the process. Susanne tried to stop him, but Parker slit her throat. They left with a paltry $340 dollars from Half's wallet, and, during their departure, they forgot to bring their knife sheaths. During interviews with investigators, Parker confessed that he was surprised "that our plan didn't work."

[edit] Capture

The Zantop's bodies were found later that evening by family friend Roxana Verona, who was responding to a dinner invitation by Susanne. Investigators believed at first that it was a crime of passion by someone having an affair with Half, but that idea was soon disproved. After finding a bloody footprint and the two knife sheaths, the police traced the knives back to Parker having bought them via email. Upon meeting with the 16-year old Parker, they learned that he was not regarded as a troublemaker. As well as having a good alibi, he told them that he bought the knives with Tulloch to build a fort [2], but they sold them at a surplus store after finding they were too heavy. While he agreed to undergoing fingerprinting, investigators paid Tulloch a visit. Although they had reasonable doubt that the pair were not the killers and told him that he did not have to speak with them, Tulloch agreed to speak with them and gave the same story. Upon inquiring about the deep cut just above his right knee, he told them that he slipped on a rock and cut himself on a metal spigot. When they asked to fingerprint and borrow boots for matching purposes, he signed a search warrant. The reason that the same request had not been made of Parker was because it was suggested by a detective whom they had phoned to give his version of the story.

On the following day, Tulloch and Parker were discovered to have left their homes. Parker's father found a note stating "Don't call the cops," to which he called the police. It was around this time that Tulloch's bootprints matched those found in the Zantop's home, and both sets of fingerprints had matched those at the crime scene. A warrant was put out for Tulloch's arrest, while Parker, still a minor, was sought for questioning in the murders. Sensing that police would be looking for their car, they abandoned Parker's silver Audi at a gas station and planned to hitchhike to California. After a truck driver picked them up in New Jersey, he made the announcement of their desire to travel west via CB radio, a police officer pretended to be another driver and offered to pick them up. At the Flying J truck stop in Spiceland, Indiana, the pair were captured by authorities. Although they unconvincingly gave fake names, both admitted to their identities.

[edit] Robert Tulloch

Robert Wayne Tulloch was born the third of four children in 1983 in North Pomfrey, Vermont. His parents Michael and Dianne had struggled financially since they were married in 1977. Tulloch took his home birth as the sign of future greatness, which he referred to as the "humble beginnings of an intellectual giant." Michael Tulloch was known to be very shy and withdrawn by those around him, and he preferred to run his carpentry shop at home. Dianne works as a home nurse. Tulloch has three siblings: two older sisters and a younger brother Kienan. Suffering from development disabilities, his older sister Julia often took things from neighbors lawns; not understanding the concept of private property. When this would happen, Mike and Dianne force their son to prevent this, and they would blame him for their daughter's actions if it did happen. Known to be a strict disciplinarian, Mike would force Rob to write out lines starting with "I will not...."

Tulloch ran and won the title of class president of his school's student council. Despite winning a landslide victory, he frequently did not attend team meetings, and, when there, he often was bored, unprepared, and impetuous. A number of other members tried to remove him from the council, but this failed when the principal declared impeachment unnecessary. It was reported that Tulloch was very upset with his fellow members. He also was a member of the school debate team, but, being unprepared, he would use insults and witty remarks against his opponents. One such debate involved a foreign exchange student from Germany struggling to understand his questioning; to which Tulloch arrogantly remarked "You're just a German. How can you not know?"[citation needed] Although his team had been leading by far, the victory was awarded to their opponents.

[edit] Sentencing

After their capture and incarceration, Parker was declared an adult and therefore liable to stand trial. He made a plea bargain with the state to testify against Tulloch as a witness, plea guilty to second degree murder, and he would receive a maximum sentence of twenty-five years to life, with a possibility of parole after 16 years. The profits from any book deals or movie offers he might agree to will go directly to the Zantop's children. Tulloch's lawyer tried without success to get the insanity defense, claiming that he suffered from mental illness. Parker was sentenced to twenty-five years, and Tulloch, pleading guilty, was given life imprisonment. During the hearing, Parker wept and openly showed remorse during his apology for his part in the killings, but Tulloch showed no emotion and made no statement.

[edit] Aftermath

James Parker is currently being held in the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord. He has been classified as a Custody Level Three prisoner, which means that he can go about the prison at any time, except for head counts and lock downs at night. This type of classification allows inmates to leave their cells until the mandatory lock down at 11 P.M. Prison officials have reported that Parker takes part in play productions put on by inmates, works at arts and crafts, plays guitar, and practices yoga. His parents visit him on a regular basis. He will not be eligible for parole until 2017, when he will be thirty-three years of age.[citation needed]

Robert Tulloch is held at the Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility in Berlin as a Custody Level 4 inmate.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Snow, Robert L. (2005). Murder 101: Homicide and Its Investigation. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 224. ISBN 978-0275984328.  (see pp. 73-77)
  2. ^ Douglas, John; Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess, Robert K. Ressler (2006). Crime Classification Manual: A Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 576. ISBN 978-0787985011.  (see p. 96)

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

  • Lehr, Dick; Mitchell Zuckoff (2003). Judgment Ridge: The True Story behind the Dartmouth Murders. New York: HarperCollins, 432. ISBN 006000844X. 
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