A judge in Grafton County has approved an agreement that will allow a Vermont man convicted of killing two Dartmouth College professors when he was 17 to seek parole in roughly 20 years, court filings show.
The decision affects Robert Tulloch, 43, who was automatically given a life sentence without parole after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in the 2001 slayings of Half and Susanne Zantop. The ruling follows changes in federal juvenile-sentencing law that require courts to reconsider automatic life-without-parole terms imposed on people who were minors at the time of their crimes.
What the ruling means for residents and the case
The judge’s approval resolves the final resentencing among several similar cases in the region and sets a timeline for when Tulloch could first be considered for parole. Under the terms agreed by the defense and the prosecution, Tulloch will be eligible to seek parole in about two decades — a schedule tied in part to his age relative to one of his victims.
Defense attorneys had asked the court for a new minimum term in the range of 30 to 40 years, arguing in filings that Tulloch has shown maturity and conduct improvements during his time in prison. They cited his disciplinary record, noting earlier infractions but asserting there have been no major violations since 2012 and no minor write-ups since 2017.
Legal background and wider context
The shift comes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 decision that mandatory life-without-parole for juveniles is unconstitutional, and subsequent rulings that applied that change retroactively. Those decisions prompted re-examinations of sentences for people who committed capital crimes as juveniles across the country, including several in New Hampshire and neighboring states.
The state had not publicly specified the sentence it would seek in the Tulloch resentencing. Attorneys for Tulloch argued the requested range was consistent with other juvenile homicide resentencings reviewed in New Hampshire and nationwide.
- Sentence originally imposed: Automatic life without parole after a 2001 guilty plea.
- Age at crime: 17.
- Current age: 43.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers reached the agreement ahead of a planned three-day resentencing hearing, avoiding the longer proceeding that had been scheduled in Grafton County Superior Court.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Slayings of Half and Susanne Zantop; Tulloch pleads guilty. |
| 2012 | U.S. Supreme Court rules mandatory juvenile life-without-parole unconstitutional. |
| 2026 | Judge approves terms allowing Tulloch a parole chance in about 20 years. |
For Vermont residents, the case underscores how changes in U.S. Supreme Court precedent can trigger reviews of decades-old sentences and alter the long-term prospects of people sentenced as juveniles. It also highlights the role of regional courts in implementing retroactive relief ordered by higher courts.
Officials with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and Tulloch’s attorneys filed the agreed terms in court; a judge signed off Monday, formally setting the new parole eligibility timeline. The court filings indicate there will be no immediate release, only an opportunity to petition for parole at a later date under the newly established schedule.
The case remains a sensitive matter for the families of the victims and the Dartmouth community, which have long sought accountability for the killings. Local authorities and legal advocates will continue to monitor the status of the parole process as the new timeline advances.
Further court filings and hearings related to the implementation of the resentencing order could provide more detail on how the parole process will be managed and the standards that will govern any future parole consideration.
