James Parker, Robert Tulloch's alleged accomplice in the murder of Professors Half and Susanne Zantop, will face no criminal charges related to previous attempts to break into homes in Rochester and Vershire, Vt. described in an indictment against Tulloch released last Tuesday, the Windsor County district attorney's office said over the weekend.
Parker, who pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to second-degree murder last December, recently agreed to provide testimony about the Zantops' murders to be used against Tulloch.
Late last week, media organizations also petitioned to allow cameras at the upcoming trial of Tulloch, of Chelsea, Vt.
The Boston Globe, Court TV, the New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters, and WBZ-TV are among those named as petioners in a motion filed by Orr and Reno law firm for a hearing on camera access in the courtroom at the April 22 first-degree murder trial.
"The public has a right to know what goes on," WBZ-TV news director Peter Brown said.
While presiding Grafton County Superior Court Judge Peter Smith has prohibited cameras from entering his courtroom since 1995, the petitioners argued that "there is a presumptive constitutional right" for the media to record, broadcast and photograph at Tulloch's trial, according to the recently filed motion.
"We certainly feel that this is an extraordinary case, proven by the details of the crime that were recently made public," Brown said. "Especially given the random nature of the crime and the concern of the community, the public has a right to know what went on."
Smith denied earlier requests to air Tulloch's pretrial hearings and said that the objective of courtroom procedure was "not to entertain or educate the viewing public."
The news organizations involved have kept in close contact as they await the court's decision to hear their case, Smith added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
