Members of the increasing number of communities linked in the aftermath of the murders of Half and Susanne Zantop reacted to the newly-proposed motive yesterday with a mix of emotions, mainly sadness, fright and continued puzzlement.
Dean of the College James Larimore said yesterday's revelations do not ease the pain of the "horrible actions" and encouraged members of the community to reach out to one another.
"While we have all been hoping to better understand what happened on that fateful day last year, there is no comfort in knowing that we lost two wonderful people to such a senseless act of violence," Larimore wrote in an email.
Before the announcement of the new charges, Howard Chesshire '74 of Vershire, Vt., said he felt a degree of empathy for the suspects, Robert Tulloch and James Parker, who attended tiny Chelsea High School with his daughter. He believed the two had simply made a horrible mistake.
Chesshire lives on Goose Green Road, where the two teens allegedly attempted to talk their way into a home in July 2001, intending -- as with the Zantops -- to steal ATM cards and PIN numbers before murdering the resident.
"But today we find out it was premeditated ... I have gone from sympathizing with these guys to being ferociously angry and vengeful," Chesshire said.
Given the close proximity of Tulloch and Parker's alleged first attempted robbery, Chesshire said he had checked with the telephone company to find out when service to his home had last been interrupted.
Audrey McCollum and her husband were close friends and neighbors of the two Dartmouth professors. She was shocked to learn yesterday that Tulloch and Parker likely visited her house shortly before they supposedly killed the Zantops.
"We're grateful that we were not at home, but that doesn't ameliorate our grief about that couple who we loved very much," she said. "The PIN number ... it seems inconsequential."
Earth sciences professor James Aronson spoke of the "complete wreckage of the utmost trust" in the Upper Valley community after the murder, when previously, "everyone trusted everyone."
Others also reacted with fear to the randomness implied in the charges announced yesterday.
"These two teenagers don't live very far from where I am and where my husband works ... It is frightening," said Denise Thurston, a resident of nearby Corinth, Vt.
Unlike many others, however, Robert Childs, the property assessor in Tulloch and Parker's native Chelsea, Vt., said he wasn't surprised by the new charges.
"I knew of at least three or four instances in which they had unauthorized entries into peoples' homes."
Most of the students interviewed by The Dartmouth said they did not know of the recent developments. For many, the new information did little to clarify their feelings.
"Everyone wants a reason to explain this. Stealing ATM cards just makes it seem more senseless," Tashi Dondup '03 said.
Patrick Cantwell '04 hoped that the new indictment would be proof that the murder was premeditated and that as a result the teens would be punished more severely.
"It makes it worse that they planned it out like that -- that they went from house to house," he said.
Ithan Peltan, Rachel Osterman, Devin Foxall, Tara Kyle and Cynthia O'Brien contributed to this report.
