Second Murder Suspect To Appear In Court

Parker arrived at Lebanon Airport just before 3 p.m. Saturday escorted by half a dozen state police troopers. He said nothing as he was walked to a waiting cruiser. There are new reports out that say Parker and his friend, 17-year-old Robert Tulloch, purchased bus tickets to Amarillo, Texas, just days after the murders. The pair allegedly tried to escape to California, but didn't have enough bus fare to get that far. Parker and Tulloch are charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Half and Susanne Zantop. The Chelsea, Vt., teens are accused of stabbing the couple to death in their Hanover home Jan. 27. Parker is considered a child under state law, but prosecutors are seeking to try him as an adult. A former state prosecutor says a judge is likely to side with prosecutors given how the state has handled similar cases. In the last 15 years, "There hasn't been a juvenile who was charged with first-degree murder who wasn't certified as an adult," Michael Ramsdell, a former chief of the attorney general's homicide bureau, told Saturday's Union Leader. New Hampshire changed its laws in 1996 to remove 17-year-olds from the juvenile court system and treat them like adults. The law also made it easier to transfer juvenile cases to the adult system. According to Ramsdell, as many as 20 juveniles facing some kind of homicide charge have been ordered to stand trial as adults in the last decade or so. Among them was 14-year-old Jeffrey Dingman, who eventually pleaded guilty to helping his 17-year-old brother kill their parents in Rochester. Parker's case will start in a district court, where a judge will recommend whether he should face the charges as an adult. A superior court judge then will review the recommendation. The final decision could be months away -- in the Dingman case, the superior court judge made his decision seven months after the murders. In making their decision, the judges must consider eight factors, including the teenager's maturity, his prior record, the seriousness of the crime and the likelihood of reasonable rehabilitation if he remains in the juvenile court system. "No one factor is determinative," Ramsdell said. Parker, who was arrested with Tulloch in Indiana on Monday, waived extradition Friday. Tulloch returned earlier in the week and faces a probable cause hearing Wednesday.

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Previous Stories:

• February 23, 2001: Family Of Dartmouth Suspect Speaks Out
• February 22, 2001: Suspect Arraigned In Dartmouth Killings
• February 21, 2001: Dartmouth Slaying Motive Unclear
• February 21, 2001: Teen Suspect To Return To New Hampshire
• February 21, 2001: Extradition Waived In Dartmouth Case
• February 20, 2001: Teens Arrested In Dartmouth Murders
• February 19, 2001: Internet Knife Purchases Led To Zantop Suspects
• February 17, 2001: Teen Sought In Professors' Stabbing Deaths