New Hampshire court resentences Dartmouth killer to 45 years to life

A Grafton Superior Court hearing in North Haverhill, New Hampshire, on Monday approved a joint recommendation of two concurrent 45-year-to-life sentences for Robert Tulloch in the 2001 murders of Dartmouth professors Half and Susanne Zantop. Tulloch, now 43, was 17 at the time of the killings.

The resentencing gives him eligibility for parole at age 62, with credit for more than 20 years already served.

Background of the case Tulloch and accomplice James Parker, then 16, pleaded guilty after stabbing the Zantops in their home. Parker received 25 years to life and was released on parole in June 2024. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 decision barred mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders under the Eighth Amendment.

Statements at the hearing Veronika Zantop, daughter of the victims, told the court the crime showed “sheer depravity” and asked that Tulloch remain imprisoned for the longest possible term. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said the sentence reflects the seriousness of the crimes, promotes accountability, and includes protections for the Zantop family, including no-contact orders and a ban on profiting from the case.

Tulloch’s attorneys did not comment after the hearing.