A man who was a teenager when he murdered two married Dartmouth College professors after later saying he was “bored” has lost his latest attempt to alter his punishment, after a judge on Monday rejected his bid to avoid serving his full life sentence.
Robert Tulloch was 17 in 2001 when he stabbed Half and Susanne Zantop to death at their home near the Dartmouth campus.
According to Tulloch’s friend and accomplice, James Parker, the two teenagers had grown restless with life in Chelsea, Vermont, and devised a plan to kill strangers, steal their money and use it to move to Australia.
For months, the pair went door to door in New Hampshire and Vermont, posing as students conducting an environmental survey, before the Zantops allowed them inside their home.
Susanne Zantop, 55, chaired Dartmouth’s German studies department, while her husband, Half Zantop, 62, was a professor of Earth sciences.
Tulloch pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Now 43, Tulloch argued in a court filing last week that his sentence should instead be reduced to a term of 30 to 40 years.
He was permitted to seek resentencing because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional.
Robert Tulloch, now 43, was resentenced to a minimum of 45 years to life, meaning he could be considered for parole in 2046, for murdering a married couple
Tulloch was 17 years old when he stabbed Dartmouth College professors Half (left) and Susanne (right) Zantop to death in 2001
On Monday, a judge resentenced Tulloch to a minimum of 45 years to life, meaning he could be considered for parole in 2046 when he’s 62 years old, the same age Half Zantop was when he was killed.
The couple’s daughter, Veronika Zantop, joined the hearing remotely and talked about how she and her family were affected by the death of her parents.
‘This wasn’t a crime of passion or retribution. He wasn’t using substances; he wasn’t psychotic. There was just sheer depravity,’ she said, urging that he stay in prison ‘for the longest possible sentence.’
Veronika is now a psychiatrist who lives in Seattle with two sons, one of them the same age Tulloch was when he committed his crimes.
She said she can appreciate that brain functioning can change over time, but does not believe it is true for Tulloch, saying he meticulously planned the killings and followed through in a cold, predatory manner.
After she spoke, Tulloch apologized to Veronika.
‘After listening to that, I feel disgusted by even thinking I could say anything that would mean anything,’ he said.
Parker, who was 16 at the time, told prosecutors Tulloch stabbed Half and then directed him to attack Susanne. Tulloch also stabbed her.
Tulloch was allowed to request a resentencing because the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory sentences of life without parole are unconstitutional for juveniles
According to Tulloch’s friend and accomplice, James Parker (pictured), the teens were bored with their lives in Chelsea, Vermont , when they concocted a plan to kill strangers, steal their money and move to Australia
Fingerprints on a knife sheath and a bloody boot print linked the teens to the crime, but after being questioned by police, they fled Vermont and hitchhiked west. They were arrested at an Indiana truck stop weeks later.
Parker, who cooperated with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to second-degree murder, was released from prison on parole in 2024 at age 40, having served nearly the minimum term of his 25-years-to-life sentence.
Tulloch’s lawyers said prison records show he has matured and that, after some initial misconduct, he’s had no major infractions since 2012 and no minor infractions since 2017.
Quoting from Tulloch’s therapy records, they said he has expressed ‘significant remorse’ for what he sees as a heinous and unforgivable crime, his ‘warped youthful thinking,’ and his ‘good capacity for empathy.’
‘The murders of Half and Susanne Zantop were horrific crimes that caused immeasurable pain to their family, friends, students, and the Dartmouth and Upper Valley communities,’ said New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella.
‘While this resentencing was required by court decisions and a changed legal landscape, the State worked to ensure that the sentence imposed reflects the seriousness of these crimes, promotes accountability, protects the public, and provides meaningful protections for the Zantop family. Our hearts go out to the Zantop family and all of those who knew and loved Half and Susanne Zantop.’
