The younger of two Vermont teenagers accused in the deaths of two Dartmouth College professors appeared in a New Hampshire courtroom Monday. Watch Jack Harper's Report Authorities treated James Parker, 16, as an adult while he was on the lam, but he reverted to juvenile status after returning. Prosecutors are trying to have him certified as an adult for trial. Defense lawyer Cathy Green said that he should retain his juvenile status. "I represent an overwhelmed adolescent who is now within the protection of the juvenile justice system of New Hampshire, which is where we think he should be," she said after the arraignment in Grafton County Superior Court. James Parker's parents, John and Joan, held hands as they walked into the courtroom. They avoided reporters. Tulloch, an adult under New Hampshire law, will go before a judge on Wednesday in Lebanon, N.H., for a preliminary hearing on evidence. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, as was James Parker when he was being treated as an adult. The pair was caught last week at an Indiana truck stop. Meanwhile, a Vermont judge refused Monday to open records that might explain why authorities accused James Parker and Tulloch. "Piecemeal dissemination of information does not promote an understanding of the investigation and charges in this case; rather the opposite occurs, and has occurred, in this case," Vermont District Court Judge Patricia Zimmerman ruled in Barre. The Associated Press and other news organizations sought the records, including affidavits for search warrants. AP lawyer Philip White said that he would appeal immediately to the Vermont Supreme Court. The warrants included a request for physical evidence from the suspects, according to Zimmerman's decision. Prosecutors said that releasing documents could jeopardize their continuing investigation, and Zimmerman said the investigation clearly is ongoing. Authorities obtained 10 different search warrants in Vermont as they sought evidence against the two teen-agers, who live in the small town of Chelsea, about 25 miles from Dartmouth. Parker and Tulloch are accused of fatally stabbing Half and Susanne Zantop on Jan. 27 in their home a few miles from the Hanover, N.H., campus. Authorities have said nothing about a possible motive and almost nothing about their evidence. A sheriff told the AP earlier that authorities sought out James Parker and Tulloch because one had bought a military-style knife on the Internet. The sheriff also said that fingerprint evidence linked one suspect to the scene. Sources have told other news organizations a knife sheath or sheaths at the scene bore one of James Parker's fingerprints and that a bootprint linked Tulloch to the home. The first four Vermont warrants were based on information provided by New Hampshire investigators. After completing those searches, Vermont officials returned to court the next day for four more warrants to seize items they had seen but had not been authorized to take, Zimmerman's ruling said. A ninth warrant was issued the same day based on information New Hampshire officials obtained "from a New Hampshire citizen concerning the location of potential evidence," she said. The final warrant, seeking evidence from the teenagers themselves, was issued Saturday based on the results of unspecified forensic tests. All the affidavits requesting the warrants, as well as inventories of items seized, were closed by Zimmerman and another Vermont judge at the request of prosecutors.

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Should James Parker Be Tried As A Juvenile?

Previous Stories:

• February 22, 2001: Family Of Dartmouth Suspect Speaks Out
• February 19, 2001: Internet Knife Purchases Led To Zantop Suspects
• February 18, 2001: Dartmouth Slaying Suspects' Car Found
• February 16, 2001: Attorney General Denies Report Of Zantop Affair
• February 6, 2001: FBI Joins Dartmouth Murder Investigation
• February 1, 2001: New Details Released About Dartmouth Murders
• January 29, 2001: Professors' Deaths Jolt Ivy League Town