Ivy League Murders

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James Parker and Robert Tulloch stabbed a pair of Dartmouth professors, Half and Suzanne Zantop, to death in January 2001.

Who would want to murder a pair of beloved professors from Dartmouth College? Investigators were stumped as to who and what their motive may have been. Listen to the story of the Ivy League Murders and how the least likely pair of suspects turned out to be the very killers investigators were looking for.

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Location

Our story begins in Etna, New Hampshire, a small community located within the town of Hanover.  A town within a town.  Located on the western side of New Hampshire in the scenic Upper Connecticut River Valley.  The river separates the states of Vermont and New Hampshire.  It is also the home to Ivy League institution Dartmouth College.

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth was established in 1769 by Yale graduate Eleazar Wheelock. It is one of the oldest private educational institutions in the United States established before the American Revolution.  The 46th Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf is an alumnus of Dartmouth along with Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes and The Office alum Mindy Kaling.

Cold Welcome

Around 6:30 pm on January 27, 2001, Roxana Verona arrived at the home of Half and Suzanne Zantop for dinner.  Roxana and the Zantops worked at nearby Dartmouth College.  Half Zantop, 62, was an Earth Science and Geology Professor, and Suzanne, 55, was the chair of the German Studies Department and taught comparative literature.  Both had worked at Dartmouth since the mid-1970s and were well-thought of and liked.

Roxana may have been a little perplexed when she arrived as the Zantops didn’t answer the door. Nothing seemed to be going on inside the home as one would expect if being invited over for dinner.  Roxana entered the home calling out for the couple. When she entered the study she found the room in shambles and the bodies of Half and Suzanne lying on the floor in pools of blood.

Help

Roxana fled the Zantop residence and went to the nearest neighbor’s house on Trescott Road, the McCollum’s. Within seven minutes officers from the Hanover Police Department arrived at the Zantop residence.  What stood out to officers was how nothing appeared to be out of place throughout the house except for in the study.  Nothing appeared to be missing as the home was full of antiques and collectibles.

Initially, investigators thought could this be a murder-suicide. They quickly ruled it out as both victims had been repeatedly stabbed to death and no murder weapon was found.  The Zantop murders were only the third case of murder in over fifty years in the Hanover area.  As investigators walked through the crime scene they came across a bloody boot print.  Detective Eric Bates cordoned off the print with pieces of wood until the crime scene unit could arrive to process it.

Crime Scene

The study of the Zantop’s home was a horrific scene.  Suzanne’s body was found lying near the door to the study with Half’s body lying further in the room.  There was an upturned chair near his feet and two other chairs set up near the desk.  To investigators, it looked as if a conversation had perhaps taken place.

Also found in the room were two 9 to 10 inches length knife sheaths which may have held the murder weapons.  The trail of blood leads from the study to the front door.  The front door was unlocked and did not appear to have any evidence of being forced open or tampered with.  Did the Zantops know their assailants?  Initial beliefs by investigators that due to the over-the-top violence was this a crime of passion? Was there someone or someone who hated the Zantops enough to kill them both?

Not knowing what the motive for the murders was, investigators started checking out the local airports, bus stations, and local cab companies trying to see who was trying to leave town.  One taxi dispatcher did reach out to the police. They reported that they had picked up a college student on the night of the 27th after midnight taking them to the Manchester Airport.  Police soon ruled out this student as he had flown out due to a family emergency.

Beloved

Half Zantop was described by those that knew him as being very lively and witty.  His wife, Suzanne was described as generous.  Half and Suzanne were both from Germany and had met at Stanford University in the mid-1960s.  The couple married in the 70s and had two daughters. Both Half and Suzanne had taught at Dartmouth since the 70s and were well-liked by both staff and students.

The autopsy would show that the wounds on both Half and Suzanne were consistent with those inflicted by a tactical combat knife.  Suzanne suffered from 11 stab wounds and Half had ten wounds over various parts of his body. Most of the wounds centered around the chest and face areas.  Suzanne had her throat cut.

Lots of Boots

To rule out that any of the investigators left the boot print over fourteen pairs of footwear were collected from anyone who had entered the Zantop residence since they were last seen.  This included neighbors, emergency personnel, medical examiner, and police.  All fourteen pairs were eliminated by the crime lab.  Meaning that print was suspected of belonging to one of the killers.

Police sent the print to the FBI Crime Lab footwear section to identify the pattern and determine which boot it came from.  The print would come to be identified as belonging to an upscale hiking boot.

Suspects

Investigators started their interview process with faculty and students on Dartmouth’s campus.  They found that in the days leading to his murder Half Zantop argued with one of his students.  This student had an extensive knife collection and had an abrasion on his forehead when investigators talked to him.  He claimed that he had a good relationship with Dr. Zantop and he had only been joking around.  Investigators were able to verify his alibi and this student was soon eliminated.

Investigators also found out that Half had recently been given a position over another professor.  This other professor had left the area soon after the murders so police tracked him down as he had moved out west.  Investigators had his car impounded after they found out what looked like bloodstains in his trunk.  It turned out to be spilled stew.  This other professor was also soon eliminated.

Tactical Knives

Unfortunately, investigators were back to square one in terms of suspects. They discovered that the Zantops didn’t appear to have any enemies.  Their focus turned to the murder weapons.  There were two knife sheaths found at the scene. They wanted to find what type of knife they would belong to and find out who had purchased them.

Investigators found that it was a type of knife used by the military or police.  Over 5,000 knives would be needed to be tracked down.  Due to the sheer number, Brian Fitzell with the FBI office from the Bedford, New Hampshire office was brought in to help.

Upon examining the knife sheaths forensic examiners would discover a fingerprint on the back of one of them. When the print was run through the state and federal databases no match was made.  To investigators, this meant that either the person it belonged to had never been arrested or their prints had not been taken.

Pressure Mounting

Investigators were feeling pressure from the community to quickly solve the murders. The Zantops were beloved in the Hanover community.  After the FBI joined both the local and state police task force, they were able to utilize the Rapid Start Computer System to help keep track of the tremendous number of tips coming in.

The Rapid Start Computer System was rolled out by the FBI in October 2002 in response to the D.C. Sniper Shooting case.  Once tips are scanned into the system they are stored in a database where they can be organized and searched.  Nothing seemed to point to the individuals responsible for the Zantop murders.

Targeted

One of the questions investigators were initially thinking was were the Zantop’s targeted.  That didn’t seem to make sense as the use of a knife usually indicates something more personal.  Plus the crime scene appeared to be sloppy for a hit or assassination.  Why leave the sheaths behind? Plus the boot prints and fingerprints left behind would not be something a professional would do.

Robbery was ruled out as there didn’t appear to be anything missing from the home.  For this reason, the FBI called in one of their profilers, Agent Jim Fitzgerald with the Behavioral Analysis Unit, to help give them more insight into their possible killers.

Profile

When Agent Fitzgerald first looked at the case he felt that it was unusual due to the victims being such low risk and having been murdered during a Saturday morning.  Neither Half nor Susanne lived a high-risk lifestyle. They didn’t live in a high-crime neighborhood and they were not involved in any criminal activities.  In reading the scene, Agent Fitzgerald thought the placement of the chairs in the study looked as if an impromptu meeting had taken place before the murders.

Agent Fitzgerald felt that the killers, as he believed that there were two assailants, were mission-oriented.  Meaning that they had come into the Zantop residence with a mission to kill anyone inside.  The weapon choice was also perplexing.  With mission-oriented killers, the choice usually is between a cheap gun or a handgun with a silencer.

The Zantops may have known their killers or at least felt comfortable enough to let them into their home.  The extreme level of violence made no sense and for that reason, Agent Fitzgerald felt that the killers were young and their motivation may have been about money or getting revenge.  Nothing seemed to make sense in terms of motive for the Zantop’s murderers.

Public Help

Investigators decided to release the basic profile to the public. They asked if anyone noticed someone exhibiting odd behaviors around the time of the murders.  They asked for tips if anyone had recently changed their appearance, missed work or school for unexplained reasons, or had unexplained injuries or bruises on their hands or arms.  Tips started pouring in, but unfortunately, nothing panned out.

Discovery

Initially, investigators, especially Agent Fitzgerald had been told that nothing had been missing from the home.  However, that wasn’t true and within the week investigators discovered that Half’s wallet was missing.  This changed everything and now they had a motive; a robbery that went bad.

Investigators still were working on trying to track down who had bought the murder weapons.  On February 14th an internet retailer in Massachusetts was questioned. They told the investigators that they had sold two combat knives to a James Parker who lived only twenty miles from the crime scene.

Suspects

James Parker lived across the nearby state line in Chelsea, Vermont.  When investigators arrived at the Parker residence they discovered that James Parker did not purchase the knives.  However, Jame’s 16-year-old son, also named James, had used his father’s credit card to purchase the weapons.  His reason for doing so when questioned was that he and his 17-year-old friend, Robert Tulloch, were going to use them to go rock climbing.  Another article I read mentioned that they were also going to use them to build a fort.

James went on to say that after the knives arrived they realized that they were too heavy for rock climbing so they sold them to somebody outside of an Army/Navy store.

While James and his father went down to the station to be further questioned another set of investigators went to question Robert Tulloch.

Identical 

Robert told investigators that when the two had gone to the Army/Navy store they had sold both knives for only $60.  He basically told investigators the same story that James had told his investigators.  What piqued the investigator’s interest was that both boys’ stories were virtually identical as if they memorized their statements.  When Robert was asked if he owned any boots he showed investigators a pair that were the same as the ones they were looking for.

Robert agreed to go down to the police station for further questioning.  He also agreed to be fingerprinted, but since he had no criminal history and had cooperated with police he was released. However, investigators felt that they were on the right track.

Midnight 

Investigators rushed to the crime lab wanting Robert’s hiking boots to be forensically examined to see if they were a match for the bloody boot print.  They needed the match in order to get an arrest warrant.  Due to the pressure on the case results were tripled checked, but at 3 am a definitive match was made.  Investigators were also able to determine that Parker’s fingerprint matched the ones at the scene.

On the Run

While investigators were gathering their evidence for arrest warrants Parker and Tulloch had told their parents that they were spending the night at the other’s house. Parker’s parents discovered a note that simply said “don’t call the cops.”  They called the cops.  When investigators arrived with their arrest warrants they found that Parker and Tulloch had taken off.  Neither of their parents knew where their sons had gone.

While investigators put out a “be on the lookout” for the boys other investigators searched Tulloch’s bedroom and found a cardboard box that contained both murder weapons.  The bolo contained information for a 1987 Silver Audi which would be found by a Massachusetts State Trooper abandoned at a truck stop in Sturbridge.  A worker at the truck stop told investigators that two clean-cut boys had been asking truckers for rides to California.  They were using the names of Sam and Tyler.  When last seen they had gotten a ride with a husband and wife trucking team.

Manhunt

The FBI began notifying trucking companies and their dispatchers about two boys trying to hitch rides west. They indicated that they were wanted and believed to be armed and dangerous.  Investigators learned that the two may have been spotted in Columbia, New Jersey, and had found another trucker to take them to California.  FBI agents also notified police agencies in the region that the pair were using truckers to get them out of the area.

Three weeks after the Zantop murders on February 19th around 4 am the local sheriff in Spiceland, Indiana was listening to chatter over the CB and hears a trucker reach out to other truckers about two guys needing a ride to California.  Pretending to be a trucker, the sheriff says he would be happy to give them a ride and will meet up with them at a local truck stop.

Traveling to meet up with Parker and Tulloch the sheriff called for backup.  Upon meeting up with Parker and Tulloch the sheriff asked both boys their names and where they were from.  Not being able to answer the questions the sheriff they were taken into custody.

Adult Certification

Once they were returned to New Hampshire and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, James Parker had an adult certification hearing. This was to determine if he could be tried as an adult in the double homicide of the Zantops.  Since Parker was 16-years-old at the time of the murder he was first dealt with in the juvenile justice system. The state prosecutors made it clear that they were going to try to certify him as an adult once he turned 17.

In December 2001 it was announced that James Parker had reached a plea deal agreement with state prosecutors.  He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in April 2002,  in the death of Suzanne Zantop and agreed to testify against Robert Tulloch.

Robert Tulloch, a former honor student, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. His attorney told the court that they were going to go for an insanity defense. However, Tulloch would end up pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. At their respective sentencings, Parker broke down in tears while Tulloch sat emotionless and refused to look at the Zantop’s daughters when they spoke.

Motive

When Parker sat down with investigators he told them just how long he and Tulloch had been planning on the murders and what lead to their decision to do so.  Parker and Tulloch were two bored teens who were looking for a life of adventure.  They talked about becoming commandos like the Navy Seals, but they weren’t down with all the discipline and training requirements that came with becoming a Seal.  

So they decided to train themselves to commit robbery-murder so they could get enough money to travel to Australia where they would take what they wanted through highjacking, robbing, and killing.  They decided that about $10,000 would be needed to get to Australia.  The pair thought that they were smarter than everyone else.  

We could just go wherever we want and then, you know, become these really cool people, and one of our main goals was, um, to find some way to live forever, like just check out all the myths in Egypt or something, we weren’t really sure.

James Parker

Parker told authorities that Tulloch wanted to get used to killing by killing Tulloch’s dog which Parker did not agree with.  In the summer of 2000, the pair were on their way home from a festival in Sugarbush, Vermont first started talking about robbery murder.  The pair had already broken into two houses on that trip.  They planned on getting residents to give them their personal identification numbers (PINs) and steal their ATM cards.  

Zantop Residence

Tulloch and Parker decided that they would cross over the border into New Hampshire to look for a home that they felt would meet their needs.  They picked the Zantop residence as it looked expensive.  TIn the previous six months Tulloch and Parker had tried to gain entry into four other residences.  Their first time was in July 2000 when they knocked on the door of a residence in Vershire, VT claiming that their car had broken down.  Before knocking on the door they had cut the home’s phone line.

The pair changed their approach when they knocked on the Zantop’s door.  Now the pair told Half that they were students conducting an environmental study for a class project and would he be willing to answer some questions?  Half being an educator readily agreed. He invited the two into his study to begin the survey.

It was pretty clear to Half that these two young boys were not well prepared with their survey questions and he told them so.  It was when Half turned his back to them that Tulloch took out his knife and started to attack him. He stabbed him in the back, head, neck, and chest.  Suzanne heard the attack and ran from the kitchen only to be attacked initially by Tulloch.  Tulloch then ordered Parker to stab Suzanne and slit her throat.  Upon leaving the residence they took Half’s wallet that had only about $340.00.

The pair left Etna, NH, but on their ride home, they realized that they left the knife sheaths and decided to go back to get them.  When they arrived back at the Zantop residence the police were already there so they decided to just go.

Parole

In April 2019, James Parker asked for early release after serving 18 years of his 25-year sentence.  During his time in prison, James has been described as a model prisoner.  He obtained a master’s degree and has used his time behind bars in a productive manner.  He even received a twenty-one-month reduction to his sentence because of earning time credits.  In addition to his higher educational degree, Parker also completed a number of vocational training programs.  He was active in the prison theater and art programs and has several of his pictures hanging in the men’s prison.  

Forensic psychologist Robert Kinscherff evaluated Parker for what criminal risk he would pose to the community if released.  Parker scores showed at the “very low end for violent behavior and reoffending.”  If released he plans on living with his parents who still reside in Chelsea, Vermont, and already has a construction job lined up.  In June 2021, news broke that Parker decided to withdraw his petition for release.  Thirty-five at the time, Parker decided to wait for his earliest release date of May 2024.  

Meanwhile, Robert Tulloch was serving his life without the possibility of parole sentence when the United States Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to sentences of death or life without the possibility of parole. As of April 2021, Tulloch’s resentencing hearing is on hold.

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