Re: 2/16/01 - AP: Police issue arrest warrant in Dartmouth College murders; Vermont teen sought in deaths of Zantops
Police issue arrest warrant in Dartmouth College murders
Vermont teen sought in deaths of Zantops
By Harry R. Weber, Associated Press, 2/16/01
CONCORD, N.H. -- Police said late Friday night they have issued a warrant charging a Vermont teen-ager with the murders of two Dartmouth College professors.
State police said they were looking for Robert Tulloch, 17, of Chelsea, Vt. Police have a warrant charging him with two counts of first-degree murder in the Jan. 27 stabbing deaths of Susanne and Half Zantop.
Police say the teen may be driving a silver-colored Audi, and he may be traveling with a 16-year-old male companion, who is also being sought in connection with the homicides.
Police did not say how they identified the suspect, nor did they immediately release any further information from state police headquarters in Concord, which is 65 miles south of the Dartmouth campus in Hanover.
A man who answered the phone at Tulloch's home refused comment and hung up.
Rick Ackerman, a Chelsea highway foreman who lives about four miles away from Tulloch, said he has seen the police going back and forth from the suspect's home. He said that at about 11:45 p.m. Friday there was a forensic truck, crime lab officials and four or five state police cars in front of Tulloch's home.
"We were outside our garage washing our truck and wondered what was going on," Ackerman said. "I asked the guy at the country store and he said they were looking for someone."
He added, "But tonight in another store they told me they were looking for Robert Tulloch. I know of his parents. They seem to be all right people. The mother, I've run into her a few times."
In an e-mail to Dartmouth students, college president James Wright continued to urge students to take reasonable safety precautions. Wright reiterated that community members should not hesitate to seek out the college counseling office and other support resources.
He said he is relieved that a warrant has been issued.
But, he added, "I would be more relieved if they apprehended" the suspect. "This shows that they're making some real progress."
When asked if he knew of any connection Tulloch had with the college, Wright said, "I have never heard the name before, and I do not know of any connection to the Dartmouth community. His name does not show up in any place in our records."
Earlier Friday, New Hampshire's top prosecutor denied a report that the murders of the Zantops probably resulted from an affair Mr. Zantop was having.
The Boston Globe reported Friday that authorities believe the murders were "crimes of passion, most likely resulting from an adulterous love affair involving Half Zantop."
Attorney General Philip McLaughlin made his denial in a news release.
"No responsible and knowledgeable law enforcement official would provide the Globe with the information it attributed to official anonymous sources," he said. "In fact, investigators do not hold the belief attributed to them in the Globe story."
Globe Editor Matthew V. Storin responded promptly.
"We stand by our story," he said.
He said any suggestion the Globe made up the story "is just absolutely, positively false."
Zantop, 62, and his wife, 55, were stabbed to death in their secluded off-campus home. They were found by an arriving dinner guest.
Authorities have released little information about the case, and stuck with that policy Friday.
"We wouldn't confirm or comment on any facts in the Globe story. We remain extremely optimistic and believe the investigation is progressing positively and hope to resolve this matter sometime in the foreseeable future," said Dan Mullen, a senior assistant attorney general.
Mullen said prosecutors are keeping quiet for fear of jeopardizing the investigation.
"We have run across (instances) where potential suspects in other cases have picked up information in the media that made it more difficult to investigate that case," he said.
At a news conference a week ago, Charles Prouty, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office, said the FBI has developed a profile of the likely killer, but officials are not ready to release that yet.
Authorities believe the Zantops, who frequently opened their home to students and other guests, were killed by someone they knew or let into their home.
Half Zantop taught earth sciences. Susanne Zantop was chairwoman of the German Studies Department. Both were natives of Germany and traveled abroad frequently.
boston.com
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Note: Yesterday the Boston Globe ran a story entitled "Love affair eyed in N.H. killings; Husband involved with unidentified woman, officials say." Unless half Zantop was having an affair with the 17 year old boy's mother, it looks like the Globe has some serious explaining to do.
boston.com |
