Northeast
Ivy League ' class clown' killer to be freed after nearly 25 years behind bars
A high school student who murdered two Dartmouth professors in their own home in a bizarre plot to rob them and move to Australia has been granted parole after spending his adult life behind bars.
James Parker, now nearly 40, was 16 when he and Robert Tulloch convinced Half and Susanne Zantop they were conducting a survey on climate issues in 2001.
After the Zantops invited the two teenagers into their New Hampshire home, Tulloch stabbed Half and allegedly instructed Parker to stab Susanne. The boys did not know the couple and chose their house because it looked expensive and was surrounded by trees.
Before the killings, the duo estimated they would need $10,000 to move from their home in Chelsea, Vermont, to Australia, and they planned to make random captives give them their financial passwords before killing them. But they only made off with $340 from Half’s wallet and were tracked down by police after leaving the sheaths of their knives at the home.
James Parker during his parole hearing April 18, 2024, in Concord, N.H. (Charles Krupa/Associated Press)
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Although police initially suspected a crime of passion from a suspected affair, according to reporting later retracted by the Boston Globe, fingerprints on the sheaths and a bloody boot print led them to the two boys three weeks after the Jan. 29, 2001, killings.
Nearly 25 years after he pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to second-degree murder, he told New Hampshire’s state parole board his actions were “unimaginably horrible.”
“We were attempting to move overseas and live some sort of life of adventure,” Parker recalled of his plan with Tulloch. “It’s just so hard. I’ve gone over and over it and just finding an explanation for that is just, I just don’t know how I could do that.
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Susanne Zantop, 55, and husband Half Zantop, 62, were murdered in their New Hampshire home Jan. 29, 2001, by high school students Robert Tulloch and James Parker. Susanne headed the German studies department at Dartmouth University, while her husband taught Earth sciences. (Associated Press)
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“I know there’s not an amount of time of things I can do to change it or alleviate any pain I’ve caused,” he told the board April 18. “I’m just deeply sorry.”
Those who knew the high school boys were shocked by the killings, telling the Cape Cod Times they were “class clowns.”
“Jimmy is the class clown,” Casey Purcell, a senior who attended Chelsea High School with the two boys, told the outlet after their 2001 arrest. “He’s never really serious. That’s all there is to him. Rob is the one who always gets voted Most Likely to Take Over the World, just because he’s so witty. But they are not violent. They like tricks and stuff, but not anything like this.”
Parker’s attorney, Cathy Green, touted her client’s “stellar” disciplinary record during his time behind bars. Parker earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees while incarcerated, she said, and painted artworks that are now on display in the prison. He has acted in jailhouse theatrical productions, taken up sports and helped to develop educational guidelines for inmates.
“Twenty-four years ago, when he was 16, Jim Parker committed a terrible crime. He has fully accepted responsibility for his actions and remains deeply remorseful,” Green told Fox News Digital Friday. “He knows that nothing he can say or do will bring solace to the family and friends of the Zantops.”
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Parker is pictured Feb. 20, 2001, as he is led to the Henry County Courthouse in New Castle, Ind. He and Tulloch devised a plan to rob and murder strangers to raise funds to move to Australia, Parker said at his parole hearing last week. (Getty Images)
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However, she said, her client “has spent the past 24 years doing everything in his power to not only improve himself, but to better the prison community. He is very appreciative that the parole board has given him the privilege of living in the community.”
Green said that he would not be commenting to the media “out of respect for the Zantop family.” He could be released as early as next month.
Parker was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 25 years after he testified against Tulloch, per court documents. The Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile to mandatory life imprisonment in 2012, and Parker appealed his sentence in 2018.
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“We were attempting to move overseas and live some sort of life of adventure,” Parker told New Hampshire’s parole board last week. “It’s just so hard. I’ve gone over and over it and just finding an explanation for that is just, I just don’t know how I could do that.” (Associated Press)
He withdrew his petition in 2019 after hearing of the Zantop’s surviving daughter’s disapproval.
Among nine people associated with the Zantops who showed up at Parker’s parole hearing, one cried out when his request for early release was granted.
In light of the parole board’s decision, daughter Veronika Zantop said she “wish[ed] James Parker and his family the best and hop[ed] that they can heal.”
Robert Tulloch, pictured in an undated photo, was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder in the Zantops’ deaths. He is scheduled for a new sentencing hearing in June. (Associated Press)
“This is a hard one to make a statement about, especially because I can’t speak for everyone affected by what happened,” Veronika Zantop told the outlet. “For me — I miss my parents and am deeply sad for everything they — and we — have missed out on. I miss my father’s sense of humor and kindness and my mother’s sharp wit and tenacity in all things. Among so many other things. I am deeply grateful for all of the support we have received.”
Her mother was 55 and her father was 62 when they were killed. The two German immigrants both taught at Dartmouth University. Susanne was the head of the school’s German studies department, and her husband taught Earth sciences. The pair were “beloved” by their students and colleagues and had an open invitation to many of their homes.
Tulloch, now 40, got a mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder in the killings. He is scheduled for a new sentencing hearing in June. After its 2012 decision, the Supreme Court ruled Tulloch and four other men who were sentenced to life in prison should be resentenced.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Northeast
Pilot, passenger swim to safety after plane crashes into New York’s Hudson River
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A pilot and passenger swam through the frigid waters of the Hudson River and reached shore safely after their Cessna 172 made an emergency landing Monday night, officials said.
The aircraft had taken off from Long Island when the pilot was forced to land in the river just after 8 p.m., the Middle Hope Fire Department said in a Facebook post.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
Middle Hope Fire Department responders, along with personnel from other agencies, were dispatched to the scene. After a brief search, first responders located the plane within the City of Newburgh, authorities said.
A plane wades in the Hudson River. (Facebook/Middle Hope Fire Department)
Fire officials said the two occupants were able to free themselves from the aircraft and swim to shore. Newburgh Emergency Medical Services evaluated the pair before they were transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
Multiple agencies were on the scene after a plane crashed into the Hudson River. (Facebook/Middle Hope Fire Department)
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul hailed the incident as “Another miracle on Hudson.”
“Thank God both the pilot and passenger of a single engine plane that performed an ice landing near Newburgh have been located with only minor injuries,” the governor wrote in a post on X. “Grateful to our first responders for their quick actions.”
A plane made an emergency landing on the Hudson River Monday evening. (Facebook/Middle Hope Fire Department)
New York Rep. Pat Ryan said he was “closely monitoring reports of a small plane making an emergency landing near the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.”
“I’m in touch with officials on the ground, who have shared that both passengers are safely out of the water & have been evacuated by EMS,” he said. “Incredibly grateful for our Hudson Valley first responders who are responding swiftly and put their lives on the line to keep others safe.”
First responders found the plane within the city limits of Newburgh. (Facebook/Middle Hope Fire Department)
The cause of the emergency landing remains under investigation.
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Boston, MA
Boston honors first casualty of American Revolution – The Boston Globe
“In moments of challenge and in moments of conflict, it does feel easier to put your head down,” Wu said at an event at the Old State House commemorating Attucks.
“Remembering the full history pushes us to be the beacon of freedom that the rest of the country and the rest of the world so very much needs.”
Inside the Old State House’s council chambers, city leaders, historians, and students gathered to celebrate Attucks’ legacy. They talked about the importance of memorializing him during a time when many present said the contributions of people of color to American history were being erased by the Trump administration, and the country’s founding principles were under attack.
Senator Lydia Edwards said the death of Attucks and the four others killed during the Boston Massacre helped establish important legal principles that still guide the country today.
Following the killings, British soldiers involved in the incident were put on trial. John Adams, who later became president, agreed to defend them in court, arguing that the rule of law must be upheld even during times of intense conflict.
“Even in these moments of strife, oppression of rogue federal government, that we remember that we stood up and still held to our court system, to the rule of law and to due process,” Edwards said. “We also remember who had to die in order to remind ourselves to do that.”
City Councilor Brian Worrell said Attucks was a symbol of the long struggle for equality in the country.
“It’s a story that is a reminder that Black and Indigenous Americans have always been at the forefront [of] the fight for justice,” Worrell said.
He said when he recounts Boston’s Black history, he almost always starts with Attucks’ story.
“He fought not simply against the tea tax or the Stamp Act, he fought for the most basic of rights. He fought for equal human lives. It’s a fight we as a city are still having,” he said.
Wu spoke about how on March 5, 2025, she was called to testify before Congress about Boston’s immigration policies during a six-hour hearing. She touted Boston’s safety record amid aggressive questioning, arguing that the city’s immigration policies improved public safety.
“On the 255th anniversary of the Boston Massacre, on Crispus Attucks Day, there was no way that this city wasn’t going to be represented in standing up for what’s right,” Wu said.
A chandelier lit the council chamber and red curtains covered its historic windows. On both sides of the room, students sat with their teachers. Winners of the Crispus Attucks Essay Contest, which invites local students to explore Attucks’ legacy, sat next to the podium.
“Sometimes history repeats itself,” said Toni Martin, an attendee at the event, who came to support her niece, who was being awarded. “Sometimes it gets better, but it takes revolutionary people to make change perfect.”
Outside of the State House after the commemoration, Sharahn Pullum, 18, who came in second for the essay contest, said, “My inspiration was just getting the opportunity to speak on something that matters.”
Michael Kelly, 65, joined the wreath-laying ceremony that took place at the Boston Massacre Commemorative Plaza. Kelly held a sign that said, “Ice Out Be Goode,” referring to Renee Good, a US citizen who was shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Kelly said he had been standing at the plaza for three hours and is planning to stand there the entire day.
“People can stretch their imaginations to understand that this place, what happened here, is not at all different than what happened in Minneapolis,” Kelly said with tears in his eyes. “People standing up for something they believe in is vastly important, and we can’t be daunted.”

Aayushi Datta can be reached at aayushi.datta@globe.com.
Pittsburg, PA
Pirates Winning Streak Ends With Loss to Cardinals
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a strong showing so far in the Grapefruit League, but suffered a surprising defeat.
The Pirates lost 3-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla., taking just their third defeat in Spring Training so far, dropping to 9-3 in the Grapefruit League.
Pittsburgh saw their five-game winning streak come to an end, but they are still level with the New York Yankees at the top of the Grapefruit League standings.
This game also came after the first off day for the Pirates on March 4 and a 7-1 win over Team Colombia in an exhibition at LECOM Park on March 3.
How the Pirates Fell to the Cardinals
Pirates right-handed pitcher Mitch Keller made his third start in the Grapefruit League and threw three scoreless innings, before giving up a solo home run to Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman on a slider down in the zone, putting the road team up 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning.
That represented the first run that Keller gave up all Spring Training and Pirates left-handed relief pitcher Derek Diamond came in for him after he gave up a single to Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker.
Keller has just a 1.23 ERA over 7.1 innings for the Pirates in the Grapefruit League, a good start for the veteran on the starting rotation.
St. Louis loaded the bases against Pirates left-handed relief pitcher Evan Sisk in the top of the fifth inning with three walks, but Sisk struckout top prospect in shortstop JJ Wetherholt and forced Gorman into a double play to keep it a one-run game.
Pirates right-handed relief pitcher Chris Devenski gave up a run in the top of the sixth inning, as he walked second baseman Ramón Urías, who stole second base, then gave up a single to catcher Pedro Pagés, doubling the Cardinals’ lead at 2-0.
The Pirates tied the game up at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, as shortstop Alika Williams hit a two-run home run off of Cardinals left-handed pitcher Quinn Mathews.
Pirates right-handed relief pitcher Cam Sanders gave up the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning, hitting leadoff batter Joshua Baez with a pitch and then giving up a single to pinch-hitter Jimmy Crooks to make it 3-2.
Right fielder Ryan O’Hearn had a strong showing for the Pirates in the loss to the Cardinals with two hits in two at-bats. He is now slashing .462/.563/.769 for an OPS of 1.332 in six Grapefruit League games.
Outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia had a hit off the bench for the Pirates, as he is now slashing .533/.611/.733 for an OPS of 1.344 in seven games.
Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates!
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