3:23 p.m.: When Diane Tulloch answered her telephone this afternoon, she would not say how she has felt since learning that her son, Robert, 17, had finally been found, but the past few days have left her noticeably shaken.
Diane Tulloch declined to comment further, but before hanging up, she told The Dartmouth, "We love our son, and we want the press to know that he is innocent until proven guilty."
She said she did not know when she would next see her son.
And around town this morning, residents were still shocked and reticent, knowing that one of their own may have committed a heinous crime.
At Chelsea Public School -- a classic whitewashed schoolhouse with an American flag flying outside -- was under tight wraps this morning.
Four people, including one police officer, were guarding the school at 8 a.m. this morning as parents drove up to the building located near the town commons in minivans and pickup trucks to drop off their children.
A few of the students, who approached the school, joked back and forth with the guards, but the mood seemed somber as the crew of four turned away scattered reporters from the typically quiet community school that serves Chelsea and some of the surrounding towns.
Retired physician Brewster Martin, who practiced medicine in the tightly-knit Chelsea community for 40 years, told The Dartmouth this morning that he was "dumbfounded" by the news.
He described Chelsea as a "delightful little village," where children gather to skate on the centrally located rink in the winter and where cross-country skiing and other sports are popular activities.
Martin worked together on a town recreation committee with John Parker, the father of James Parker, 16, who has been accused of acting in concert with Tulloch, and charged with two counts of double homicide for the deaths of Susanne and Half Zantop.
Martin said the elder Parker is the chairman of the recreation committee, and described him as "just a wonderful guy," who, in addition to working to improve his community, also runs a "successful contracting business."
Martin said he also knew the Tullochs because he lived across the street from them for about three years before they moved to the 313 Main Street house where they currently live.
Retired Orange County Sheriff Sam Frank, who now lives in Virginia, told The Dartmouth yesterday evening, "I wasn't surprised; I was just upset."
"That's kind of a young age for these kids or any kids to be charged with this kind of crime," he continued. "It's not right for anyone, obviously, to take another person's life."
He described the community as a safe place where community members pull together -- especially in the case of an emergency -- to support one another.
He remembered a flood in the town about five years ago when people teamed up to help neighbors, some of whom were stranded. He also recalled the ice storm of a few years ago that provoked a similar response.
"Lots of people know other people's business," he generalized. "They all bicker back and forth from time to time, but when push comes to shove, and they need to help, they all pull together."
Frank's successor, the current Orange County Sheriff, Dennis McClure, also described Chelsea as a safe community.
He said occasionally there is a break-in at one of the local summer camps and infrequent cases of shop lifting. He also said that "once in a while somebody might drive off without paying for some gas."
In all of the 690 square mile Orange County, which is made up of 17 towns, there is only one traffic light.
He said it is common for the young people of Chelsea and the surrounding towns to travel to places like West Lebanon to shop and go to the movies.
"There's not much to do in a place like Chelsea," he said.
He said he has no idea what connection the two alleged killers could have had with the Zantops or what their motive could have been.
