Judge OKs resentencing deal for man who killed Dartmouth professors as teen
A man who killed two Dartmouth College professors in 2001 has been resentenced and eventually will be eligible for parole.
Robert Tulloch has been resentenced to a sentence of 45 years to life, with credit for time served.
Tulloch, 43, has been in prison since 2001 for the killings of Dartmouth College professors Half and Susanne Zantop.
>> VIDEO: Watch the full resentencing hearing
This means Tulloch will serve at least another 20 years in prison before he will be eligible for parole.
The new sentence was accepted by the judge at the hearing Monday morning in Grafton Superior Court in North Haverhill.
"This was a consensus that both sides came to, which frequently happens in a lot of different courthouses," said Senior Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati. "And that's a consensus that was reached here today, one that would provide, as you heard, most importantly, one that was done with the family's input and also one that was done with the idea of what would be best to be able to protect the public for the longest period of time."
When he was 17, Tulloch pleaded guilty to killing the Zantops and was sentenced to life in prison.
Tulloch's resentencing request stemmed from a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders. The decision prompted several inmates in New Hampshire who were sentenced as juveniles to seek new sentencing hearings.
James Parker, who was convicted as Tulloch's accomplice, was released on parole in 2024 after serving nearly the minimum of his 25-years-to-life sentence.
According to Parker, the teenagers said they were bored with their lives and plotted to kill strangers, steal their money, and flee to Australia. Parker, who was 16 at the time of the killings, told investigators that Tulloch fatally stabbed Half Zantop before directing Parker to attack Susanne Zantop. Tulloch also stabbed Susanne Zantop during the attack.