Seventeen-year-old Vermont youth Robert Tulloch was indicted yesterday on two counts of first degree murder for the brutal stabbing deaths of Dartmouth professors Half and Susanne Zantop.
Issued by an investigative grand jury, the indictment means that Tulloch's case will soon enter the trial phase.
At a press conference outside Grafton County Superior Court yesterday afternoon, Senior Assistant Attorney General Kelly Ayotte announced the indictments but commented on little else -- including the possibility of additional charges, the specific evidence collected or any potential motive that Tulloch and his alleged accomplice, James Parker, 16, may have had to commit the Jan. 27 murders.
Ayotte said the maximum penalty for a first-degree murder charge in Tulloch's case is life imprisonment without parole.
The state will not seek the death penalty, Ayotte said, because, according to New Hampshire law, the charges do not constitute the use of capital punishment.
Ayotte explained that state law limits the kinds of cases in which capital punishment is an option. Murder charges that do, by law, warrant capital charges include murder of an on-duty police officer and murder in the course of a sexual assault, Ayotte said.
The indictments came not long after yesterday's testimony by Tulloch's sometimes-girlfriend Christiana Usenza, who picked up the two suspects from Manchester Airport and drove them back to Vermont about a week after the murders.
Although Ayotte would not comment on the significance of Usenza to the case, Robert Sherman, an informal spokesman for the 18-year-old, told The Associated Press, "We have a letter from Kelly Ayotte saying she is not a target of the investigation."
Ayotte remained vague on the subject of the letter, but did not refute Sherman's assertion.
"If it's a letter from me, I'd imagine it'd be accurate," she said.
Ayotte was joined at the press conference by Senior Assistant Attorney General Mike Delaney, State Police Sergeant Mark Mudget and Hanover Police Chief Nick Giaccone, who led the Hanover Police Department's investigation team.
Giaccone showed little self-congratulatory sentiment about the progress of the case, echoing Ayotte's earlier statement that the indictments are "just part of the process."
Tulloch's arraignment has yet to be scheduled, but Ayotte expects that the State Supreme Court will set a date for the hearing within the next week.
Prosecutors are attempting to certify Parker as an adult before seeking an indictment against him. Ayotte declined to comment on how long this may take, but said that in her experience, similar proceedings can last several months.
New Hampshire murder trials are generally scheduled nine months from the time of indictment, Ayotte said.
According to court documents, both members of the couple were stabbed and slashed in the chest and neck. Susanne Zantop also sustained stab wounds in the head. Knives believed to be used in the crimes were found in Tulloch's bedroom.
