Concord, New Hampshire — A man who pled guilty as a juvenile to the 2001 stabbing deaths of two married Dartmouth College professors is fighting his life sentence without parole, claiming that it violates the New Hampshire Constitution.
Robert Tulloch was 17 years old when he murdered Half Zantop and Susanne Zantop in Hanover as part of a plot he and his best buddy devised to rob and kill people before fleeing to Australia with their stolen goods.
A hearing was planned for Wednesday in Grafton County Superior Court to address legal issues presented in Tulloch’s case.
Tulloch, 41, is scheduled to be resentenced at a later date after the United States Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory life terms without parole for juveniles constitute “cruel and unusual” punishment. Another viewpoint rendered the ruling retroactive, granting hundreds of juvenile lifers a chance at release. In 2021, the court ruled that a minor did not need to be deemed incapable of rehabilitation before being sentenced to life without parole.
At least 28 states have prohibited such punishments for offenses committed when the offender was a kid. However, efforts to pass comparable legislation in New Hampshire have failed.
According to the New Hampshire Constitution, no court of law “shall deem excessive bail or sureties, impose excessive fines, or inflict cruel or unusual punishments.”
Tulloch’s lawyer, Richard Guerriero, stated in a memorandum that this term would encompass condemning someone to life without parole for committing a crime as a child. He also claimed that the state constitution’s language is broader and provides more protection than the United States Constitution’s.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, among other groups, filed a brief in favor of Tulloch.
In court filings, prosecutors stated that Guerriero’s case is not compelling. They have stated that they may seek a similar life term without the possibility of release for Tulloch.
If a judge determines that the state constitution allows for life without parole punishments for crimes committed by juveniles, Guerriero also requests judgments that a defendant is incapable of change and proof beyond a reasonable doubt that such a sentence is suitable.
Tulloch is the final of five men who face resentencing after a state supreme court verdict. Three were resentenced to longer terms with the possibility of parole. One was resentenced to life without parole after refusing to attend his court or allow his attorneys to argue for a reduced sentence.
Tulloch’s pal, James Parker, 40, was released from prison on parole in June. He was sixteen years old when the atrocities were committed. Parker had pleaded guilty to being an accessory to second-degree murder in the death of Susanne Zantop. He completed virtually the minimum time of his 25-year-to-life sentence.
Parker consented to testify against Tulloch, who intended to utilize the insanity defense at his trial. Tulloch eventually changed his mind and pled guilty to first-degree murder.
The teenagers, dissatisfied with their lives in nearby Chelsea, Vermont, planned to relocate to Australia and estimated that they would require $10,000 for the trip. They eventually decided to knock on householders’ doors under the guise of performing an environmental audit, then tie up their victims and steal their credit cards and ATM details. They intended to have their victims provide their PINs before executing them.
For nearly six months, they had tried to negotiate their way into four additional homes in Vermont and New Hampshire but were either turned down or found no one.
Parker, who cooperated with prosecutors, stated that they chose the Zantop property because it appeared luxurious and was surrounded by trees. Susanne Zantop, 55, was the director of Dartmouth’s German studies department, while her husband, Half Zantop, 62, taught Earth science.
Parker and Tulloch were apprehended some weeks later.
