Sick reason teen killers slaughtered teachers

A pair of teen boys knocked on a front door and murdered two teachers in cold blood. Now, there is a shocking update. WARNING: Graphic

WARNING: Graphic

On an icy winter’s evening in January 2001, Roxana Verona made her way over to her friend’s home for some cosy Saturday night dinner and drinks.

She had been invited by her colleague, university professor Susanne Zantop, 55, who taught at the prestigious Dartmouth College along with her husband Half, 62.

The couple, both originally from Germany, met and fell in love while studying at Stanford University in the ‘60s.

After marrying in 1970, they went on to have two daughters, Veronika and Mariana, and teach at Dartmouth, an ivy league school in the US town of Hanover in New Hampshire.

Both originally from Germany, they met while studying in the US in the 1960s. Picture: Supplied

The pair were both beloved figures at the university, with Susanne being chair of the German department, while Half taught geology and earth science.

As Roxana strolled up to the couple’s front door armed with her special homemade salad, she was looking forward to a fun night full of strong margaritas and scintillating conversation.

Her friend Susanne had told her that Half would be out at a birthday party and it would just be the two of them.

So, when there was no answer after the first couple of knocks, she was not too concerned.

Yelling out, she was met with further silence. She decided to try the knob, and to her surprise, the door was unlocked.

This struck her as odd, as she knew the couple were extremely security-conscious. However, Roxana thought Susanne might be taking a shower and left it unlocked for her to come inside.

Slowly opening the door, she stepped in the house and called out again. Still no answer.

On the kitchen bench were the remnants of what appeared to be a light lunch: some cut up bread, chopped vegetables and cheese, but no cooking aroma in the air.

The couple both taught at Dartmouth, an ivy league school. Picture: iStock

The house was eerily quiet. There was no trickling of running water in the shower or the sound of someone rushing to get ready.

Hanging up her coat and handbag, she slowly wandered around the house and noticed a light in the study had been left on.

Getting closer, Roxana was baffled that the usually tidy room, which had hundreds of books lining the walls from floor-to-ceiling, suddenly appeared in disarray.

Papers and photographs were carelessly strewn all over the floor, while a card table was knocked over.

But what she saw next would haunt her forever.

Grisly find

There on the ground were the brutally slain bodies of Susanne and Half. As the pair lay in a puddle of their own blood, it was clear the couple had met an extremely violent end.

In a state of pure panic and fear, Roxana ran to a neighbour’s house and began frantically pounding on the door.

The couple’s neighbour, Bob McCollum, had been celebrating his 75th birthday, with the family about to make a toast when the alarm was raised.

After hearing the woman’s screams, they ran to the front door, where Roxana told them about her discovery.

Half and Susanne's house, where the killers knocked on the door to attack them. Picture: Getty

Bob’s wife called 911 while he, a doctor, sprinted next door to assess the scene and see if he could help.

But it was too late.

The couple had been dead for many hours. Susanne lay on her stomach near the study door, her throat violently slashed, with stab wounds also on her head and stomach.

A few feet away was Half, who was sprawled on his right side with his head rested on the base of the bookshelf.

Like Susanne, his clothes were soaked with blood. There was a cut in the left leg of his jeans and he had been stabbed repeatedly in the chest and head.

His face had turned white, completely drained of blood.

Two knife sheaths remained at the scene, a glaring oversight by whatever monster committed this atrocity.

There was also a damning bloody footprint inside the house. This, along with fingerprints left on the knife sheaths, would be the evidence needed to ensure justice was served.

Half and Susanne were beloved members of the college community. Picture: Dartmouth University

Hunting for the killers

Investigators contacted the company who made the knives used in the bloody crime and were given a 69 page list of recent buyers.

There was one name that stuck out: James Parker.

He had bought two knives less than four weeks before the murders and resided in Chelsea, a small Vermont town just 35 miles away from the couple’s home.

Police were stunned to discover that James was a 16-year-old high school student who claimed to have purchased the knives with his friend, Robert Tullock, 17.

He told detectives that they wanted the knives to take camping, but later decided to sell them when they realised they might be “too big”.

With the permission of his parents, James provided his fingerprints after police explained they were investigating the crime. The teen claimed he had not heard about the incident.

The killers left the knife sheath at the crime scene. Picture: iStock

Police then talked to Robert, who also provided his fingerprints and told officers the same story as James.

Although the two teenagers appeared casual in their demeanour and happy to chat with authorities, the truth was soon revealed.

Forensic technology matched the fingerprints from the knife sheaths found at the crime scene to James and Robert’s fingerprints they provided.

By the time police went back to interview the teens, they had fled. Two weeks later, they were arrested at an Indiana truck stop.

James Packer was just 16 years old when he took part in the murders. Picture: NBC

Australian dream

One question above all else remained after the gruesome crime.

What would possess two teenagers to brutally murder two people in cold blood?

The answer is bizarrely close to home. According to interviews, the pair were “bored” of their lives and wanted to move to Australia.

They estimated they would need $10,000 for the trip, but still being in high school, there was no way they were going to be able to come up with that kind of money.

Their solution? Robbery and murder.

James and Robert concocted a plan to knock on different homeowners' doors under the guise of conducting a survey on environmental issues. They would then tie up their victims and steal their credit cards, before forcing them to reveal their PIN numbers before killing them.

The pair wanted to rob and murder to get money to go to Australia. Picture: Getty

Robert will never be released from prison. Picture: Boston Globe

Over six months, they had attempted to talk their way into four homes in Vermont and New Hampshire, but were always turned away.

They picked the Zantop’s home for their fifth attempt as it “looked expensive” and was surrounded by trees.

Sadly, Susanne and Half fell victim to their plan.

Day of the murder

Before that fateful knock at the door, the couple had enjoyed a peaceful Saturday morning like any other.

Half got up early to make his wife a cup of tea for her to drink in bed. They would lay together and chat before the day began.

Susanne would then see to the household chores while listening to the radio, before having morning tea at 11am. They usually had soup on the weekends, with detectives finding a pot on the stove, along with vegetables, bread and cheese on the counter.

The gruesome crime shocked the community. Picture: Getty

The couple had both sent some emails that morning and Susanne called her friend Roxana to invite her over for dinner.

It was the last time anyone would ever speak to the couple.

Around midday, Half opened the door to the two teens and let them inside. The group talked for 10 minutes before the bloody attack began.

They fled only with Half’s wallet, which contained just $340 in cash, as the couple lay dying.

Released on parole

In interviews with police, James said he and Robert developed a “different sense of morality”.

“We thought, you know, what everybody was doing was silly,” he said at the time.

“Like going to school and like wasting half your life with education that you’re not ever going to use.”

James agreed to testify against Robert and was sentenced to 25 years in prison with a possibility of parole after 16 years.

Robert Tulloch appeared to show "no emotion" during the sentencing. Picture: Boston Globe

During the sentencing hearing, he cried and expressed remorse during his apology.

“I’m sorry,” he wept.

“There’s not much more I can say than that. I’m just really sorry.”

Robert was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and showed no emotion at the sentencing.

Now, after spending over two decades in prison, James has been released on parole earlier this month more than 23 years after committing the horrific crime.

James has been released on parole 23 years after the murder. Picture: WMURG

In a parole hearing earlier this year, the now 40-year-old said that what he did when he was 16 was “unimaginably horrible” and there is “not an amount of time or things that I can do to change it, or alleviate any pain that I’ve caused”.

Veronika Zantop, one of the Zantops’ two daughters, said in an email to The Associated Press in April that she misses her parents and is “deeply sad for everything they – and we – have missed out on.”.

She also said she wishes James “and his family the best and hope that they can heal”.

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