Dartmouth Murders
Encyclopedia
The Dartmouth Murders were the double homicide
of Dartmouth College
professor
s Half Zantop (born April 24, 1938) and his wife Susanne Zantop (née Korsukewitz, born August 12, 1945), who were killed at their home in Etna, New Hampshire
(a village near the town of Hanover
), on January 27, 2001. Originally from Germany
, each of them had been teaching at the Ivy League
college 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. The knives had been purchased online.
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 earned a geology Ph.D.
in 1969 and worked as a field geologist, he and Susanne were married in 1970 http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/young/dartmouth_murders/3.html. They had two daughters, Veronika and Mariana. Susanne taught in the German department at Dartmouth College and was chairwoman of that faculty. Half was popular among many of his students. They had begun contemplating retirement on the months leading up to their murders. The homicide investigation was led by the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit and at times consisted of as many as 50 investigators from numerous police departments as well as the FBI.
(a town a few miles east of Chelsea), says that Tulloch and Parker attempted to murder him and his family in the summer of 2000. Patti's tale appeared in the 2003 book Judgment Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders, and in 2004 Patti shared his story in more detail with Massad Ayoob of American Handgunner magazine.
Patti states that on July 17, 2000, Tulloch and Parker went to Patti's remote house, armed with hunting knives, intending to murder the inhabitants and to steal their belongings. Near the house, they dug makeshift graves for their intended victims. Then late at night, Tulloch knocked on the door while Parker waited off to the side in the bushes intending to ambush the homeowner when he opened it.
Inside, the 47-year-old Patti, at home with his 11-year-old son, was alerted to the teens' presence by the sounds of his dog barking. Suspicious of the knock on his door at such a late hour, he answered the knock by going to the door and pulling back the window blinds without opening it. Behind his back he held a Glock pistol
at the ready.
Claiming to be a stranded motorist, Tulloch asked to enter the house, but Patti refused. After receiving several more requests for entry, Patti became concerned enough to hold up his Glock where Tulloch could see it. Then Patti closed the blinds on the door and went back to call the police. When he got to the phone, he discovered that the line was dead. But when he returned to the door, Tulloch and Parker had left the house. They did not return.
Tulloch and Parker did not attempt to strike again for another six months. During that time they upgraded their weaponry, purchasing high-quality SOG SEAL 2000 combat knives over the Internet.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_169_28/ai_114475580/pg_2?tag=artBody;col1
was to take the occupants by surprise, threaten them into revealing their PINs
, rob and kill them. 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. Tulloch believed that his comments, however well-intentioned, were a slap in the face. While Half turned away to look for a phone number, Tulloch took his SOG knife and repeatedly stabbed Half in the chest and face, cutting his own leg accidentally in the process. Susanne tried to stop him, but Parker slit her throat at Tulloch's orders. Tulloch then stabbed her in the head and body. Covered in blood, they left with $340 from Half's wallet, but they forgot to take their knife sheaths from the scene. During interviews with investigators, Parker confessed that he was surprised '"that our plan didn't work."
Upon meeting with him, they learned that 16-year-old Parker 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 http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/young/darmouth_murders/7.html, but that they had 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 doubted that the pair were 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 him and borrow boots for matching purposes, he signed a search warrant
. The same request had not been made of Parker because it was suggested by a detective whom they had phoned to get 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," although he did. Police found that Tulloch's bootprints matched those found in the Zantops' home, and both sets of fingerprints 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 truck stop in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and planned to hitchhike to California
. A truck driver who picked them up in New Jersey
announced their intent to travel west via CB radio, and 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.
Tulloch ran and won the title of class president of his school's student council
in Chelsea, Vermont. Despite winning a landslide victory, he 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 remarked "You're just a German. How can you not know?" Although his team had a considerable lead, the victory was awarded to their opponents.
with the state in which he would testify against Tulloch as a witness
, plead guilty to second-degree murder, and 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 that he might agree to will go directly to the Zantops' children. Tulloch's lawyer tried, without success, to get the insanity defense, claiming that Tulloch suffered from mental illness. Parker was sentenced to twenty-five years, and Tulloch, pleading guilty, was given life imprisonment
without parole. During the hearing, Parker wept and showed remorse during his apology for his part in the killings, but Tulloch showed no emotion and made no statement.
One of the prosecutors in this case was assistant Attorney General Kelly Ayotte
, who later became the state Attorney General and a U.S. Senator.
in Concord
. He has been classified as a Custody Level 3 prisoner (medium custody ), which means that he can go about the prison except for head counts and lock downs at night. This classification allows inmates to leave their cells until the mandatory lockdown 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 2026, when he will be 41 years of age.
Tulloch is held at the Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility
in Berlin
as a Custody Level 4 inmate (close custody).
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
of Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
s Half Zantop (born April 24, 1938) and his wife Susanne Zantop (née Korsukewitz, born August 12, 1945), who were killed at their home in Etna, New Hampshire
Etna, New Hampshire
Etna, originally named "Mill Village," is a small village within the town of Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. It is located in southwestern Grafton County, approximately east of Hanover's downtown and south of the village of Hanover Center, on Mink Brook...
(a village near the town of Hanover
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
), on January 27, 2001. Originally from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, each of them had been teaching at the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
college 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
SOG Knife
The SOG knife was designed for, and issued to, covert Studies and Observation Group personnel during the Vietnam War. It was unmarked and supposedly untraceable to country of origin or manufacture in order to maintain plausible deniability of covert operators in the event of their death or...
found at the crime scene to Parker. The knives had been purchased online.
Half and Susanne Zantop
Half and Susanne met while studying at Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in the mid-1960s. Fascinated with geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, Half had earned a bachelor's degree from Freiburg University, while Susanne was working on her master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. After Half earned a geology Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1969 and worked as a field geologist, he and Susanne were married in 1970 http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/young/dartmouth_murders/3.html. They had two daughters, Veronika and Mariana. Susanne taught in the German department at Dartmouth College and was chairwoman of that faculty. Half was popular among many of his students. They had begun contemplating retirement on the months leading up to their murders. The homicide investigation was led by the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit and at times consisted of as many as 50 investigators from numerous police departments as well as the FBI.
Possible first murder attempt
Andrew Patti, a resident of Vershire, VermontVershire, Vermont
Vershire is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States, created under Vermont Charter of August 3, 1781. The population was 629 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
(a town a few miles east of Chelsea), says that Tulloch and Parker attempted to murder him and his family in the summer of 2000. Patti's tale appeared in the 2003 book Judgment Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders, and in 2004 Patti shared his story in more detail with Massad Ayoob of American Handgunner magazine.
Patti states that on July 17, 2000, Tulloch and Parker went to Patti's remote house, armed with hunting knives, intending to murder the inhabitants and to steal their belongings. Near the house, they dug makeshift graves for their intended victims. Then late at night, Tulloch knocked on the door while Parker waited off to the side in the bushes intending to ambush the homeowner when he opened it.
Inside, the 47-year-old Patti, at home with his 11-year-old son, was alerted to the teens' presence by the sounds of his dog barking. Suspicious of the knock on his door at such a late hour, he answered the knock by going to the door and pulling back the window blinds without opening it. Behind his back he held a Glock pistol
Glock pistol
The Glock pistol, sometimes referred to by the manufacturer as Glock "Safe Action" Pistol, is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Glock Ges.m.b.H., located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria. The company's founder, engineer Gaston Glock, had no experience with firearm design or...
at the ready.
Claiming to be a stranded motorist, Tulloch asked to enter the house, but Patti refused. After receiving several more requests for entry, Patti became concerned enough to hold up his Glock where Tulloch could see it. Then Patti closed the blinds on the door and went back to call the police. When he got to the phone, he discovered that the line was dead. But when he returned to the door, Tulloch and Parker had left the house. They did not return.
Tulloch and Parker did not attempt to strike again for another six months. During that time they upgraded their weaponry, purchasing high-quality SOG SEAL 2000 combat knives over the Internet.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_169_28/ai_114475580/pg_2?tag=artBody;col1
The murders
Tulloch and Parker went to the Zantop residence on the morning of January 27, 2001. Posing as students doing research for a school survey, their modus operandiModus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
was to take the occupants by surprise, threaten them into revealing their PINs
Personal identification number
A personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
, rob and kill them. 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
Earth science
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
told him that he had to come more prepared. Tulloch believed that his comments, however well-intentioned, were a slap in the face. While Half turned away to look for a phone number, Tulloch took his SOG knife and repeatedly stabbed Half in the chest and face, cutting his own leg accidentally in the process. Susanne tried to stop him, but Parker slit her throat at Tulloch's orders. Tulloch then stabbed her in the head and body. Covered in blood, they left with $340 from Half's wallet, but they forgot to take their knife sheaths from the scene. During interviews with investigators, Parker confessed that he was surprised '"that our plan didn't work."
Motive
Parker had informed authorities that the motive of the murder was to acquire money from the victims to furnish an adventurous lifestyle. Tulloch had convinced Parker that they would need $10,000 in order to go to Australia to live a new adventurous life. It has also been suggested that Tulloch is a psychopath and that the murder was simply a thrill kill.Capture
The Zantops' bodies were found later that evening by family friend Roxana Verona. Investigators believed at first that it was a crime of passion by someone having an affair with Half, but that idea was soon disproved. There were several false leads (Associated Press reported at least three persons of interest were interviewed by police and that "A task force set up after the murders also received hundreds of phone calls, letters and e-mails from people with wild theories about the killings"), but after finding a bloody footprint and the two distinctive knife sheaths at the scene, the police traced the knives back to Parker three weeks after the murders.Upon meeting with him, they learned that 16-year-old Parker was not regarded as a troublemaker. As well as having a good alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
, he told them that he bought the knives with Tulloch to build a fort http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/young/darmouth_murders/7.html, but that they had 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 doubted that the pair were 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 him and borrow boots for matching purposes, he signed a search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
. The same request had not been made of Parker because it was suggested by a detective whom they had phoned to get 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," although he did. Police found that Tulloch's bootprints matched those found in the Zantops' home, and both sets of fingerprints matched those at the crime scene. A warrant
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
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
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
at a truck stop in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and planned to hitchhike to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. A truck driver who picked them up in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
announced their intent to travel west via CB radio, and a police officer pretended to be another driver and offered to pick them up. At the Flying J truck stop in Spiceland, Indiana
Spiceland, Indiana
Spiceland is a town in Spiceland Township, Henry County, Indiana, United States. The population was 890 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Spiceland is located at ....
, the pair were captured by authorities.
Robert Tulloch
Robert Wilbert Tulloch was born the third of four children in 1983 in North Pomfret, Vermont. His parents Michael and Diane 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 shy and withdrawn, and preferred to run his carpentry shop at home. Diane works as a home nurse. Tulloch's three siblings are two older sisters and a younger brother.Tulloch ran and won the title of class president of his school's student council
Student council
Student council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...
in Chelsea, Vermont. Despite winning a landslide victory, he did not attend team meetings, and when there, he often was bored, unprepared and impetuous. A number of other members tried to remove
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
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 remarked "You're just a German. How can you not know?" Although his team had a considerable lead, the victory was awarded to their opponents.
Sentencing
After their capture and incarceration, Parker was declared an adult and liable to stand trial. He made a plea bargainPlea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
with the state in which he would testify against Tulloch as a witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
, plead guilty to second-degree murder, and 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 that he might agree to will go directly to the Zantops' children. Tulloch's lawyer tried, without success, to get the insanity defense, claiming that Tulloch suffered from mental illness. Parker was sentenced to twenty-five years, and Tulloch, pleading guilty, was given life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
without parole. During the hearing, Parker wept and showed remorse during his apology for his part in the killings, but Tulloch showed no emotion and made no statement.
One of the prosecutors in this case was assistant Attorney General Kelly Ayotte
Kelly Ayotte
Kelly A. Ayotte is the junior United States Senator from New Hampshire and a member of the Republican Party. She earlier served as the Attorney General of New Hampshire.-Early life, education and career:...
, who later became the state Attorney General and a U.S. Senator.
Aftermath
Parker is being held in the New Hampshire State Prison for MenNew Hampshire State Prison for Men
New Hampshire State Prison for Men is a New Hampshire Department of Corrections prison in New Hampshire, United States. Located in Concord, New Hampshire, it is equipped to accept maximum, medium, and minimum security prisoners....
in Concord
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
. He has been classified as a Custody Level 3 prisoner (medium custody ), which means that he can go about the prison except for head counts and lock downs at night. This classification allows inmates to leave their cells until the mandatory lockdown 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
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
. His parents visit him on a regular basis. He will not be eligible for parole until 2026, when he will be 41 years of age.
Tulloch is held at the Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility
Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility
The Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility is a state prison in Berlin, New Hampshire, USA, a part of the New Hampshire Department of Corrections....
in Berlin
Berlin, New Hampshire
Berlin is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coos County in northern New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,051 at the 2010 census. It includes the village of Cascade. Located on the edge of the White Mountains, the city's boundaries extend into the White Mountain National Forest...
as a Custody Level 4 inmate (close custody).
External links
- Noe, Denise, The Dartmouth Murders Case, CourtTV Crime Library