Temperatures are rising and hopes are sinking in Chelsea, Vt. this week with the recent release of the most incriminating evidence yet against the two teenagers charged in the Zantop murder case.
While many of the town's 1,200 residents still say they are shocked by the implication in the crime of Chelsea natives James Parker, 16, and Robert Tulloch, 17, and believe the two are innocent, cracks are beginning to appear in that dam of faith.
Documents released earlier this week said that DNA from blood found on two knives discovered in Tulloch's bedroom matches the DNA of victim Suzanne Zantop.
One knife had a mixture of DNA from a second person who has not been identified by authorities.
Recently, two residents almost came to blows in a local food store in Chelsea over a fund set up by DeRoss Kellogg, a former teacher of the boys, to aid their families.
The debate -- apparently creating a chasm between neighbors in the town -- centers around whether money should be given to aid the families of the accused while they endure the stresses of a yet-to-be-slated trial.
A poster for the fund emphasizes that any monies raised will not go into a defense fund for court expenses, but is intended to "offset the financial burdens related to food, lodging and travel expenses, telephone bills and lost wages" that the suspects' families will encounter.
With new documentation linking Tulloch and Parker to the crime scene, the debate regarding the pair's guilt is only becoming more intense.
"I'm glad, in fact, that we now have this evidence available to us," said Carol Olsen, the small town's recently re-elected constable said.
"I hope that people will be able to look at the situation more realistically now," she continued.
Though Olsen's opinion -- that the two will likely be found guilty of the crime -- seems steadfast, other residents close to the teens say it is difficult for them to predict a verdict given the extreme emotionality surrounding the situation.
One Chelsea resident quite close to Parker, who wished to remain anonymous, noted that regardless of DNA evidence, his overwhelming feeling is one of sadness.
As the parent of a teenaged son, the source said he has very little definitive opinion on the case, however he added that the whole situation has shaken him up immensely.
Though media reports have noted the two were perceived as upstanding citizens, Olsen stands by her earlier statements to reporters that in her opinion, the boys were not "perfect" as most residents described them.
"I thought they were odd kids," she reiterated.
Though Olsen noted that she has been criticized for her outspoken opinions regarding the boys' guilt, she says she has "caught a lot more support," emphasizing that during her recent election, residents approached her in confidence near the ballot boxes, whispering their concurrence with her opinion.
Ned Battey, the father of a classmate close to the accused, noted a commonly-invoked theorem in Chelsea.
"Under our system, everyone is innocent until proven guilty in the courts. We're in the middle of that process and until that process is complete" no conclusive statement can be made, Battey said.
"You hear that and I, of course, believe it," Olsen said in response to the oft-quoted legal phrase, "But you can still have a feeling about something, you can look at things in a realistic manner.
"It would be very hard for me to imagine that with such a brutal murder, that the state of New Hampshire would just pick these kids' names out of a hat," Olsen continued.
Many residents are simply withholding judgement and opinion about the evidence against their fellow-residents until the law returns a verdict.
"I'm just kind of taking it in stride," said Kip Battey, Ned Battey's son and a friend of the suspects, in regard to the new DNA evidence.
Though he still holds out hope his schoolmates did not commit the gruesome murder, he notes "the police wouldn't have them as suspects for no reason."
The teenager had the best summary for how the majority of Chelsea residents are feeling.
"You know, who knows."
