Tulloch seeks two trials

Lawyers for Robert Tulloch argued in a court filing yesterday that accusations that he and alleged accomplice James Parker planned the killings of Half and Susanne Zantop months in advance should not be heard at the teen's murder trial. Tulloch pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit murder -- the fifth charge brought against the Vermont teen accused of killing the two Dartmouth professors -- at an arraignment hearing at Grafton County Superior Court on March 6. In a motion to consolidate the conspiracy charge with the four existing first-degree murder charges, state prosecutors have alleged that the Zantop murders were only part of "an overall scheme by the defendant and James Parker to raise $10,000 illegally, to eliminate witnesses and to travel to Australia." Public defender Richard Guerriero said in the written objection to the state's request that consolidation would harm his client. "The defense was prepared for trial with an expectation of charges relating the events of one day, January 27, 2001," he wrote.