Robert Tulloch, who was sentenced to life without parole for the 2001 murders of two Dartmouth University professors while he was a juvenile, will become eligible for parole when he turns 62.
At age 17, Tulloch pleaded guilty to first‑degree murder and received an automatic life‑without‑parole sentence. A 2012 Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life sentences for juveniles violate the Eighth Amendment required his case to be revisited.
During a resentencing hearing in Grafton Superior Court, the state and defense agreed on two concurrent sentences of 45 years to life, granting credit for more than 20 years already served. The arrangement makes parole possible at age 62.
The court also imposed conditions prohibiting any contact with members of the Zantop family and barring Tulloch from profiting from the murders through any commercial exploitation.
Veronika Zantop, a psychiatrist and daughter of the victims, testified about the lasting trauma her family endured and urged the judge to impose the longest feasible sentence, describing the crime as an act of sheer depravity.
The state attorney general emphasized that the new sentence reflects the gravity of the offenses, ensures public safety, and provides meaningful protection for the Zantop family.
Investigators determined that Tulloch and his friend James Parker, both teenagers at the time, devised a plan to kill strangers, steal money, and flee to Australia. They gained entry to the Zantops’ home by posing as environmental surveyors before stabbing both victims.
Fingerprints on a knife sheath and a bloody boot print linked the teens to the crime. After the murders, they fled Vermont, hitchhiked west, and were apprehended at a truck stop in Indiana while attempting to reach California.
In 2022, Tulloch entered a guilty plea and received a life‑without‑parole sentence. Parker pleaded guilty to second‑degree murder as an accomplice, received a 25‑year‑to‑life term, and was released on parole in June 2024.
During his parole hearing, Parker expressed deep remorse, acknowledging that no amount of time could alleviate the pain he caused.
