A Vermont man convicted of murdering two Dartmouth College professors 25 years ago is seeking to have his life sentence reduced. Robert Tulloch, who was 17 at the time of the 2001 killings, now 43, argues for a minimum sentence of 30 to 40 years. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of Half and Susanne Zantop.
Tulloch was automatically sentenced to life without parole. However, U.S. Supreme Court rulings in 2012 and subsequent applications have deemed mandatory life sentences without parole unconstitutional for juveniles. These decisions have opened the possibility for resentencing for hundreds of individuals, including five men in New Hampshire who were serving life sentences for crimes committed as teenagers. Tulloch's hearing is the last of these five cases.
In a court filing, Tulloch's lawyers presented arguments for a reduced sentence, citing a review of similar juvenile murder cases nationwide and within New Hampshire. They also highlighted Tulloch's prison record, noting a lack of major infractions since 2012 and minor infractions since 2017, with most write-ups related to possessing too many books. Therapy records submitted by his legal team indicate Tulloch has expressed "significant remorse" for his actions and his "warped youthful thinking."
According to Tulloch's friend, James Parker, the two teenagers devised a plan to kill strangers, steal money, and move to Australia out of boredom. Over several months, they posed as surveyors to gain entry into homes in Vermont and New Hampshire. The Zantops, both professors at Dartmouth, let the teens into their home. Susanne Zantop, 55, was the head of the German studies department, and her husband, Half Zantop, 62, was an Earth sciences professor.
Parker, who was 16 at the time, told prosecutors that Tulloch stabbed Half Zantop and then directed Parker to attack Susanne Zantop, whom Tulloch also stabbed. Evidence linking the teenagers to the crime included fingerprints on a knife sheath and a bloody boot print. After initial questioning by police, they fled Vermont and were apprehended weeks later at an Indiana truck stop.
James Parker, who cooperated with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to accomplice to second-degree murder, was released on parole in 2024 after serving nearly the minimum term of his 25-years-to-life sentence. During his parole hearing, Parker described his actions as "unimaginably horrible" and acknowledged that no amount of time could alleviate the pain he caused.
The Supreme Court's rulings specifically addressed mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles, leaving the U.S. as one of the few countries allowing discretionary life sentences for minors. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have banned the practice, while five other states permit it but have no individuals currently serving such sentences. New Hampshire lawmakers have previously rejected efforts to end life sentences for juveniles. However, a Superior Court judge in New Hampshire agreed last July that the state constitution categorically prohibits life without parole sentences for juveniles as "cruel or unusual" punishment.
Nationwide, studies indicate that over 75% of juvenile lifers resentenced after the Supreme Court rulings have received sentences of less than 40 years. In New Hampshire, other juvenile offenders have received sentences ranging from 25 years to life to 45 years to life, with one individual resentenced to life without parole after refusing to participate in their hearing or advocate for a lesser sentence.