Murder Mystery Leaves Dartmouth Community Asking Why

Anti-Semitism Suggested as Possible Motive

By Alison Zhang Yang

James Parker, charged with the murders of Dartmouth professors Susanne and Half Zantop, will be returning to Lebanon, N.H., from New Castle, Ind. this weekend. He waived his right to protest extradition in a hearing in Henry County Superior Court in Indiana on Fri., Feb. 23. According to the spokesperson for the Parker family, Parker will plea not guilty to both counts of first-degree murder and will seek prosecution as a juvenile. His alleged accomplice, Robert Tulloch, has been arraigned for the two deaths as an adult.

COURTESY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Susanne and Half Zantop were found lying in pools of blood at their home four miles from the Dartmouth campus on Jan. 27. In the report containing partial affidavits released by the Lebanon District Court on Wed., Feb 21, investigators revealed that the Zantops died from multiple stab wounds in the neck, head, and back areas. The report, however, revealed little information regarding the motive for the double homicide.

The Anti-Semitism Theory

The intrigue surrounding the motive for the crime has generated intense speculation both within the close-knit Dartmouth community and the media. The fact that the deaths occurred on the day set in Germany for remembering the Holocaust has been suggested by the media to be of no coincidence.

Both born in Germany, the Zantops, though not Jewish, spoke very publicly about their feelings about the Holocaust. Audrey McCollum, a psychotherapist and a neighbor of the Zantops, says the couple's political activism was fueled by their "shame, guilt, fury, and horror" about Nazi atrocities. ABC's "Prime Time Live" reported that literature about the Third Reich, white supremacy, and Holocaust revisionism was found in Tulloch's bedroom.

Authorities have remained tightlipped throughout the investigation. They have not confirmed the "Prime Time Live" report that and would not comment on the significance of the date of the deaths.

Tulloch's private attorneys, Richard Guerriero and Caroline Smith, have been equally wary about commenting on media speculations. After Tulloch's arraignment hearing, Guerriero asked the public to remember that the teenage boys are dealing with "very tragic circumstances." He also commented that the media should "let the system work" and should not make premature conclusions based on unconfirmed and incomplete information.

The Affair Theory

Another theory that has emerged relates the homicides to Half Zantop's supposed extramatrital affairs. The Fri., Feb 16, edition of The Boston Globe published an article that pinpointed Half Zantop's habitual infidelity as the cause of the deaths and cited interviews with three unnamed law enforcement officials as its source. A local newspaper described the murders as the result of "an entangled web of adulterous passion among the intelligentsia."

Friends and students of Zantops denied such speculations and criticized The Boston Globe for its irresponsible reporting. Susan Brison, associate professor of philosophy at Dartmouth, believes this "fabricated hypothesis," especially its victim-blaming, is a "predictable way of coming to terms with seemingly senseless violence." Tara Maller, Dartmouth '03, said she thought the national media was "turning this into a dramatic horror movie."

Vermont State Attorney General Phillip McLaughlin also issued a statement saying the infidelity theory was unsupported. The Boston Globe Editor, Matthew Storin, maintains that the article accurately reflected the views of their anonymous sources. He did apologize, however, to the family and friends of the Zantops: "It was certainly never our intent to increase the suffering of the Zantop family, their friends, or the Dartmouth College community, and we express regret for the pain our story may have caused them."

Tulloch and Parker Described as Normal Teens

As the friends and family of the accused teens began to speak out, detailed illustrations of Tulloch and Parker are emerging.

Tulloch have been described as "withdrawn" from his peers. Kip Battey, Tulloch's long-time friend, said he is "edgy" and at times "stubborn." Faculty members Tulloch's high school in Chelsea, Verm. commented on his quick wit and intelligence, "he could write a four page essay in under an hour. He was famous for just wiping them off and getting a better grade than the majority of the class."

Kip Battey described Parker as "really funny" and a talented musician. The co-principal at Parker's high school called him a "normal" student who has never had discipline problems.

Peers say that Tulloch and Parker have been known to "move as a virtual unit" over the past year. By all accounts, the pair seemed to be normal, fun-seeking teens who loved experimenting with water rafting, rock climbing, and paint ball. No friends or family interviewed brought up the teens' supposed anti-semitism and involvement with white supremacy organizations.

Remembering the Zantops

Dartmouth students, facing the recent overflow of media attention, complain that the media has misplaced its focus by putting more emphasis on the suspects than on the lives of the victims. On campus, memorial services were held for the Zantops, who are remembered as active and cherished members of the Dartmouth community.

The Zantops have been described as "few and far in between even at a prestigious Ivy League institution" by colleagues. Susanne Zantop, the chair of the German Studies program at Dartmouth, churned out papers and books in three different languages. She was remembered for her humor and the way she "inspire(d) changes in the way a student interprets ideas." Half Zantop, an earth science professor, took students to Mexico to explore volcanoes.

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness

Dartmouth has long been known as the most isolated of all Ivies. These homicides gave an ironic and grim twist to the school motto, Vox Clamantis in Deserto, a voice crying in the wilderness.

Ranked as the safest campus among the Ivies, Dartmouth is a place where student are used to boasting about the sense of security and confidence at their school. In the past half century, there has only been one other murder: two Ethiopian students were killed by a jealous boyfriend more than a decade ago.

"Nobody takes safety precautions here. Nobody locks their doors," says Louisa Hunker, Dartmouth '02, "When I was abroad my professor always used to say, this is not Hanover, you have to be careful.'"

Crimes among the Ivies

While colleges across nation have been basking in a general decline in crime rates, the recent tragedies are the second in a series of murders that have shocked the Ivy League in the past year. In Feb. 5, 2000, Kathleen Roskot, a sophomore at Columbia University, was stabbed to death by Thomas Nelford, a junior-year, drop-out who later committed suicide.

Prestigious institutions are far from being immune to heinous crimes. On May 28, 1995, a junior at Harvard murdered her roommate then hanged herself. Much closer to home, a Yale science graduate student barely escaped gunshots on Hillhouse Street on Mon., Aug, 21.

Despite the differing situations associated with these crimes, in the wake of the violent deaths, all university administrations have had to deal with the delicate question of how to increase security without generating unwarranted hysteria and without creating a quasi "police-state" campus

Other actions the Dartmouth administration undertook in the first week following the murders, for example, received criticism from both interests: those who thought the administration overreached its bounds and those who believed not enough safety precautions were taken. Some believed that the college's decision to allow investigators to tap on-campus telephones, monitor e-mails, and search dormitories could have led to campus-wide hysteria; others suggested that not canceling classes and locking dormitory doors while the murderers were still at large put student safety at risk.

With each of these college crimes, the students, often isolated in the idealized, academic world, are reminded of what the fragility of human lives and appalling acts of violence share in common: they both are more imminent than students are willing to believe or accept.

Compiled from The Dartmouth, The Washington Post, The University Wire, ABC, The Associated Press

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