The Dartmouth Murders /// Part 1 /// 778 | Forensic Files

this is where projects come to life our showrooms are designed to inspire with the latest products from top brands
curated in an inviting Hands-On environment and a team of Industry experts to support your project we'll be
there to make sure everything goes as planned from product selection to delivery coordination at Ferguson bath
kitchen and lighting Gallery your project is our priority discover great Brands like Coler at your local Ferguson
showroom [Music] the living room is where you make life's most beautiful memories but your sofa
shouldn't be the one remembering them the new life resistant high- performance furniture collection from Ashley is
designed to withstand all the spills slip-ups and Muddy Paws that come with the best parts of life Ashley high
performance sofas and recliners are soft on Trend and easy to clean shop the high
performance furniture in store online at ashley.com Ashley For the Love of home n
[Music] [Music] welcome to True Crime garage wherever you are whatever you're doing thanks for
listening I'm your host Nick and with me as always is a man who has one sponge and uses it for everything here is the
captain it's good to be seen and good to see you thanks for listening thanks for
telling a friend [Music] today we are drinking gravel Donuts because we love ourselves gravel Donuts
is a hayy IPA from the good folks over at outer belt Brewing it's juicy flavors including pineapple Citrus and blueberry
and all of the Hops with not a whole lot of the harsh bite ABV 6.5% garage grade
4 and A2 bottle caps out of five and let's give some thanks and praise to our friends that helped us fill up the old
fridge for this week's set of shows first up a cheers to Renee from the upper Northern peninsula of the Mitten
State and a big we like your jib goes out to Julie Oswald from Franklin Indiana next we have a cheers to Caitlyn
camplain in Fort Wayne Indiana and last but certainly not least a double fisted cheers to Whitney and Brett in Los
Angeles California everyone we mentioned they went to True Crim garage.com and helped us out with this week's beer run
and for that we thank yeah yeah BW R you in beeron make sure you go to True Crim
garage.com and sign up on the mailing list and Colonel that's enough of the beers man all right everybody gather
around grab a chair grab a beer let's talk some true crime [Music] it's a famous Trope and True Crime means
motive and opportunity our concern with motive not required among the legal elements of
murder are rooted in our need to understand why the most serious of all crimes The Taking of a life
occurs what drives humans to to kill other humans famously the most common motives are greed jealousy lust and
revenge but what about when a killer strikes for none of these reasons what if a murder is carried out
just because the killers are bored and because they can what if there is really no motive at all how do we
make sense of that that's the question question we are asking ourselves here in the garage today this is true crime
garage and this is the case of Hal and Suzanne zantop also known as the Dartmouth
[Music] murders to tell this true Prime story we must first present to you one of the
loveliest of couples the xant Toops Hal and Suzanne zantop were as brilliant and
accomplished as you can get both were born in Germany Hal and Suzanne met at Stanford where both were pursuing
graduate degrees Hal was working toward a PhD in geology and Suzanne in political science the two fell in love
they married in the Andy in Argentina in 1970 the xops lived all over the world Hal worked as a geologist and Suzanne
taught German and literature as they moved around from Spain to Germany to Colombia they had two daughters Veronica
and Mariana then in the 70s Hal was asked to join the faculty at Dartmouth College as a professor of Earth Sciences
specializing in economic geology this is one of the Premier academic institutions
in the United States and there was a job there for Suzanne as well the xant Toops
flourished at Dartmouth Suzanne became the chair of the Department of German studies and published several books on
German colonialism both professors were popular with the students and thoroughly
entrenched themselves as pillars of the Dartmouth community Comm the xant Toops loved to entertain the couple and the
home were known for their eclectic dinner parties Lively conversations and warmth and acceptance of all of their
guests their home was in Etna New Hampshire a small community within the quaint town of Hanover where Dartmouth
is located this area of New England is frigid in the wintertime but gorgeous with fur trees blanketed with snow and
winding roads up mountainsides these are the kind of towns where despite the thousands of students at the college the
locals all know each other and greet each other at the pharmacy and at the General Store Hal and Suzanne were
always busy always going full of life until in an instant that was all taken away and that instant took place
sometime on Saturday January 27th 2001 so on January 27th 2001 they were having a guest over for dinner yeah
that evening Roxanna Verona a professor of French and Italian at Dartmouth College she arrived at the xant Toops
home roxan had been to the xant Toops warm and welcoming home many times enjoying the couple's famous Salon style
dinner parties where the intellectual ual Elite came to enjoy Suzanne's cooking and engage in stimulating
conversation about things like world affairs travel politics and current events Roxanne was the only guest that
evening and Hal was heading out to a friend's birthday gathering so this was geared to be dinner for two with the
possibility that H would return and join the ladies in the latter part of the evening Roxanna arrived at the xops at
6:30 p.m. she got out of her car and rang the doorbell but no one answered the door and Roxanna was surprised to
find the door unlocked when she tried the handle she walked in announcing herself
loudly to the room she heard nothing got no response and she noted that there was
none of the usual smells of delicious food cooking in the kitchen so this saw seemed very strange to her of course she
was invited over for a dinner party bringing a salad along with her she walked toward the study because she
could see that the light was on in the study when she gets near the study unfortunately she found 55-year-old
Suzanne zantop laying on the study floor blood pulled under her and all over her
clothing she was clutching her glasses in her right hand she was pale and lifeless and then she saw Hal 62 years
old he lay on the floor near the desk his head on the bottom shelf of a bookcase it it would appear that he had
fallen and his head landed on the bottom shelf of that bookcase this is a extremely bloody scene yes half 2 was
covered in blood his skin was white as a ghost Roxanna ran out of the house she jumps in her car and her plan is she's
heading for the next door neighbor B's house this is the mccullum's who she knew through the zantop Bob McCollum was
a doctor so in this Panic you know she doesn't know she walks into this situation the scene this murder scene
her two dear friends bloody and lifeless she doesn't know is the killer still in
the home or on their large property so she wasn't going to sit around and risk calling police and paramedics from that
house no she wanted to get out of there she went to the neighbor's house Bob's a
doctor she thought you know he's going to know what to do so when Roxanna pounded on their door the mccollum's
they they let her inside and they're listening as she kind of gasp out trying to explain what she
had just seen Audrey McCollum calls 911 and she's attempting to calm down Roxanna during this time
Bob and their adult daughter her name's Cindy they go running over to the xant Toops house of course they saw the same
thing that Roxanna had Cindy called 911 from the xant Toops phone after her father checked Suzanne for a pulse and
then Hof for a pulse and of course there was none uh both victims were found cold
and they were had already passed by this point they were there was nothing that could be done first at the scene as far
as law enforcement goes here Captain the scene this is one 15 trescott road so we
get officer Brad Sergeant who arrives on the scene and he's immediately calling for backup and reinforcements right away
reinforcements included officers from the Handover Police Department this included the New Hampshire State Police
as well and the Grafton County Sheriff's Department so this is a calling all cars
all handson deck situation an ambulance was called off because of the state of the victims and
a medical examiner was requested in place of an ambulance Handover police chief Nick gone arrives and is on the
scene and this is look it's a double homicide so I hate to say the these words that this is a very big deal but
we have to keep in mind that there's not a lot of murders that take place in this
area well it becomes a bigger deal because it's a upscale neighborhood correct and it's upscale victims these
are two College professors these are prominent figures in the community I I don't say this to insult any City out
there but this is not downtown Los Angeles or downtown Chicago this is a this is a big deal a bigger deal in this
area it's not like the unfortunate violence on the rise that we are seeing even in in my home state so we have all
hands on deck we have the Handover police chief he wants the scene to be very controlled
he wants everything to be handled very properly we've said this before the best detectives out there the best police
Chiefs will tell you that the biggest part of your investigation is making sure that when we figure out who did
this and we find that person and we get them let's make sure all this stands up in court let's do everything by the book
Let's do everything very professional and let's look under every Rock now there are some major items to note
here right out of the gate on this double homicide investigation so this is what they're going to learn from talking
to family and friends number one the xant Toops were fastidious of about locking their doors so even when they
were home you know they host a lot of these dinner parties their guest mentioned to police
yeah even when they would go and let one of their guests in for the dinner party
or let one of the guests out after an evening of gathering together they were locking the door so even when they're
home they're locking the door and even when they're entertaining they're keeping the doors locked crime Trends in
statistics is another important thing here the entire State of New Hampshire back back then at that time would
typically only see about 20 to 25 homicides a year so to have two a double homicide in this area of the state
seemed very surprising to law enforcement well and this is a fairly large house so we have a large crime
scene but because of some of the evidence that law enforcement finds early on it seems like the crime only
took place in Hoff's office and so that makes it a little bit easier I think for
law enforcement to investigate well and that was the the third thing for law enforcement that of note with this
investigation the the xanto's house itself was a sprawling contemporary home with large Windows
providing views of the woods it set down the hill and nestled among trees so this
is not a house that was readily noticed by drivers passing through the area so you com you com um you compound that the
place where it took you know where this all took place with the idea that they were always locking their
doors so now you're going to have to believe that police suspected that someone selected the home and the xant
Toops deliberately that this is was a targeted crime and they were the intended victims here law enforcement
has a lot of questions was there an affair going on what's the motive here we have two professors is is it an angry
student is it an angry staff member is there something going on with the relationship or going on with a a
friendship and you know what when you're interviewing family and friends and colleagues and as said people in the
town knew each other when you're interviewing all these people and you hear time and time again oh everybody
loved them everybody loved the xant Toops as an investigator you're going you're you're happy to hear that because
you're thinking to yourself cool I'm going to find the one person that didn't right the CME scene there was a lot of
evidence was observed and collected in the house and even outside as CSI poured over the structures interior and the 3
Acre property it was clear that Hal's positioning with his head on the bottom shelf of that bookshelf that he had
fallen there and his head had pushed back even pushed back some of the books on that shelf both he and Suzanne were
fully dressed in warm clothing a card table was knocked over and laying on Suzanne's legs a wicker trash basket lay
up against Hal its contents Spilled Out on the floor documents and papers were thrown around everywhere one of suzan's
birken stocks was on the floor upside down a white pages book was open to the last name t on the desk and the computer
was on a blank screen for an online online search site for names and addresses a fingerprint was found on the
desk chair that did not belong to the zops well when you see a photo of the crime scene it looks as if they're
having like a parent teacher conference meeting in Hoff's office 19 prints were collected in total as the
captain said blood was absolutely everywhere sprayed all over the study its contents the victims and on the
floor blood drops LED from the study out the front door so that's that's a little bit of a
trail there that you're looking at well you were talking about the fingerprints that's going to be very important but
also we have pretty solid bootprints from a very unique hiking boot yeah there was a partial bloody bootprint in
the foyer two more bootprints were found in the downstairs area and two additional
bloody prints were found outside as well and then jackpot two black plastic foot long
knife sheaths lay on the study floor about 4T apart and both had fingerprints on
them5 pieces of evidence were collected by the New Hampshire State Police forensic team this was detailed thorough
work and all done very professionally autopsies on H and Suzanne by the medical exam
Dr Thomas gillson revealed that they had each been stabbed multiple times in the
head neck and chest with a very long very sharp and very sturdy knife they had lived for only seconds after the
first wounds were inflicted so law enforcement is wondering what the motive is but then you have to start wondering
again is this a crime committed by one individual or multiple individuals yeah and think about how the captain just
described that scene it does appear exactly as he said like there was some kind of meeting being conducted in the
study and this was the end result 30 plus investigators were assigned to the this case the New Hampshire Attorney
General's office was calling the shots on the investigation and how it was going to be handled and they decided
that the best tactic here would be to keep all information close to the vest allow the public only bits and pieces of
information in the first news conference held the day after the murders they called the death suspicious the cause of
death was kept under wraps and the officials refused to answer questions about forced entry to the home or
possible suspects I don't always love this tactic here Captain but I think given the
circumstances of what we now know about the investigation I love this Choice that's made here I
usually feel that the public can be one of the best weapons in the Arsenal for law enforcement because the public as
much as law enforcement want to get these bad people off of the streets people that can do stuff like this we
don't want them running around we don't want them in our neighborhoods but here one they have a
lot of breadcrumbs a lot of breadcrumb trails to follow follow based off of what
they're finding at the scene and so they don't need to they don't need the Public's help so much for leads they
have leads to work in the meantime but this has kind of a two-pronged effect while you can work those other leads
purposely keeping information from the public the result here was a fir storm of rumors about what had happened so
this can be good and bad for your investigation but you're hoping that right that there's something some truth
in some of those rumors that people start talking and people talking to one another and that you might get some
information by not giving any information well this is a Ivy League school and this is going to be big news
obviously in this small community and in a community where vicious crimes like this don't take place so obviously this
is going to be run by a bunch of newspapers but in particular the College Newspaper the Dartmouth newspaper called
the Dartmouth ran with story after story about the murders and in the absence of
information from the police the theories quickly started getting passed around by
people in the community and then from another paper the Atlantic quote nearly everyone assumed that the killer
remained in the vicinity a troubled student perhaps or a faculty rival a suspicious figure was spotted lurking
around dormitories a suspicious car without estate license plates was reported so this got people talking this
kept people on high alert when the FBI joined the investigation one week later the range of conjecture went National
and then even International theories of a holocaust tie-in circulated the xant Toops were political liberals who often
argued that their native country should be more forthright in confronting the evils of its Nazi past ABC news's prime
time ran a story questioning whether there was a link between the crime and neo-nazism law enforcement did have a
few suspects right away there was um a professor that was visiting Dartmouth that was up for the same position I
believe at one time as the husband Hoff was and so they thought maybe is this a a rival colleague that decided to take
out his his anger on this couple and and then he he rented a a car and and they found some evidence in his car what they
thought was blood evidence in the trunk and that turned out to be stool so it was a it was a trunk full of [ __ ] at one
point New Hampshire attorney general Philip mcgoffin broke the silence this was on Thursday February 1st he revealed
that Witnesses had seen h zantop a live at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday the 27th sometime after that the couple was
stabbed to death by someone they allowed entry into their home so this is two sentences but it's far better and more
detailed information that they had not previously given out so they're saying how they were killed that there was no
forced entry into the home and that we know that Hal was alive and well at 10:30 a.m. so it happened sometime after
10:30 a.m. they also publicly said at the same time we have no suspects but the Attorney General said
they did not believe there was any danger to the community he addressed the killers at this press conference as well
saying quote the person who did this who may well be watching should take no comfort in the fact that they have not
yet been apprehended be patient we'll be there [Music] it's been a busy season of events and
travel in your wardrobe has probably taken a beating sometimes a total overhaul isn't in the budget but you can
replace some of those worn out pieces with affordable highquality essentials from Quint Quint has all the seasonal
must have like cashmere sweaters from $50 100% European linen shirts and versatile active wear the best part all
Quint items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar Brands by partnering directly with top factories Quin cuts
out the cost of the middleman and passes on the savings to us isn't that sweet Quin only works with factories that use
safe ethical and responsible manufacturing practices along with premium fabrics and finishes
my wardrobe was so out of date I had holes in places you shouldn't have holes and I was just at a style so I treated
myself with some organic cotton stretch chinos some stretch wool dress pants and
a 100% leather Cafe Racer jacket I look amazing then I treated myself to a Mongolian cashmere pullover hoodie I
look amazing and look what I love about quint's products are their top-of-the line great quality but also the Styles
they're classic Styles so I'm never going to be out of fashion treat yourself with Quint upgrade your
wardrobe with pieces made to last with Quint go to quince. comom SL garage for free shipping on your order and 365 day
returns that's Qi nc.com garage to get free shipping and 365 day return turns quinn.com
garage treat yourself check out quinn.com garage today this show is sponsored by better
help do you have self-care non-negotiables I didn't it's something that I struggle with something that I'm
working on every day every week and every month and it's getting better with better help when your schedule is packed
with kid activities big work projects and more it's easy to let your priorities slip even when you know what
makes us happy it's hard to make time for it but when you feel like you have no time for yourself non-negotiables
like therapy are more important than ever if you're thinking about starting therapy give better help a try it's
entirely online it's designed to be convenient flexible and suited to your schedule just fill out a brief
questionnaire to get match with the licensed therapists and switch therapists at any time for no additional
charge never skip therapy day with betterhelp visit betterhelp.com garage today to get 10% off your first month
that's betterhelp hp.com garage this show is proudly sponsored by better help are you the
type of person constantly thinking about the safety of people and things you value most trust Simply Safe to protect
your home you'll sleep better every night knowing simply safe's 247 monitoring agents are standing by to
protect you and if someone tries to break in they can send emergency help when you need it most the best part is
the exclusive alive guard protection Simply Safe agents can act within 5 Seconds of receiving your alarm and can
even see and speak to Intruders inside your home warning them the police are on their way it's no surprise the Simply
Safe has been named best home security systems by US News and world report for 5 years running and the best customer
service in home security by Newsweek we here at the garage love Simply Safe that's how we protect the garage Studios
and our personal homes we live in a time of porch Pirates and all kinds of uncertainty give yourself some peace of
mind with your home or your business with Simply Safe protect your home this summer with 20% off any new Simply Safe
system when you sign up for fast protect monitoring just visit simplysafe decomg
that simplys safe.com garage there's no safe like [Music] simplysafe all right we are back ladies
and germs cheers to you all tall cans in the air and cheers to the people in the back
right power to the people in the back the AG here meant business now behind the scenes there were a lot of things
happening the case was assigned to the Assistant Attorney General Kelly aota she advised the
public that they should be on the alert for anyone they knew who had exhibited suspicious behaviors in the past week
since the murders a press release stated that the FBI believed that the killer may be exhibiting behavioral
changes have fresh cuts bruises or wounds missing work or school or leaving the area in haste on February 9th more
than a week out investigators asked the public to call in tips about any unfamiliar cars seen in Etna or any
strange Behavior among those who knew the xant Toops while this may seem like a bit of a Hail Mary the investigators
behind the scenes had a whole lot of good old-fashioned detective work cooking so like we're saying if you're
law enforcement you have to dig into every different aspect of their life but when they looked into their personal
lives it didn't seem like there was much of a motive there yeah and I was really
shocked at this next part in this story here Captain because the Boston Globe usually does a pretty bang up job yeah
the spotlight movie and I mean it goes on and on and on we don't have time to go down that road but I was I was
shocked to see that the Boston Globe ran a salacious article this was just 3 weeks after the murders based on an
anonymous source or Anonymous sources depending on what source I went to and described the this
as quote authorities close to the case th that's how they describe the sources authorities close to the case the
headline was love affair eyed in New Hampshire killings husband involved with unidentified woman and then the article
begins investigators believe the killings of Dartmouth College professors Hal and Suzanne zantop were Crimes of
Passion most likely resulting from an adulterous Affair involving half zantop but it wasn't true none of it was
true the newspaper soon retracted the article rightfully so right should never have
run it to begin with Hal wasn't having an affair the reality was the investigators weren't able to find
anyone who had any kind of grudge against Hal and Suzanne that was worth killing for a student disgruntled over a
grade or a professor passed over for promotion was unlikely to have carried out this brutal double homicide and the
Neo-Nazi thing was a stretch at best so were tips that the murders were because Suzanne was a
feminist or could be motivated by political leanings but there was one red herring
that did distract investigators for a Time Hal's teaching assistant Tom Douglas told investigators that the only
person he could think of who might have had a reason to murder the xant Toops was the genealogy Professor that the
captain had talked about and the however that stuff got in that trunk we'll never
know yeah I don't I don't think he was it was a rental it was a rental car so we can't say he was responsible for it
and they they didn't find his stool they just found remnants of somebody's stool
so I frequently rent cars and take a dump in the they always ask you you know Upon returning did you fill up the tank
and I always say yes and I also [ __ ] in the trunk yeah I took a bit dump I took a big steamy dump in the
trunk of your car so that was a bit of a distraction yeah a little to say the least but also wasn't there uh there was
a student that they found with a knife and he had markings on his face yes uh that was a problem for the investigation
the the other thing too like so the globe should not have run that article but what what it did was it had a an
effect that they really didn't hope for it really smeared the names of some people that they named in that article
right like they there were people that were reporters that were camping out on this couple's lawn or in the streets in
front of their house trying to interview them because they thought this other couple was somehow involved and and it
was all based around the idea that there was some kind of affair going on there and think about this
they had kids the xops had grown children you're trying to grieve the loss of your the sudden loss of your
parents one none of us want to lose our parents we don't want to lose them suddenly but then to have them murdered
and on top of that your parents' name your father's name is being smeared in the papers too I mean this is just an
allaround well there are Educators and it it seemed like they let somebody in the house and again it looks like
there's some kind of meeting and so you wonder is this about education is this um was this a teacher trying to help out
a a student and it it took it took a turn for the worse I think the other thing though too
this you know when you look at the video footage and the news coverage of this crime one
because it's a small college campus uh professors the the house SE the the time of year with the snow on
the ground uh the way the investigation took place you know we have it's a knife
murder the way law enforcement interacts with the media I me didn't you get a sense this
just felt so similar to the Idaho College murders well as said it was a big deal and it should be a big deal and
it it reached a level of it was a big deal on the national scale yeah and a lot of that has to do with where it took
place just like with the the Idaho case but we cannot right we cannot say that the
globe did a a complete smear job and and just really beat them down here in our coverage of this case to you without say
we should say this because some of the sources I have um say that the rental car the what
was found in the trunk was kind of moose stew remnants of a moose stew so I just
want that to be out there that we you mean moose stool well moose stew it's a it's considered a a northern U yeah it's
a food dish but hey even if I'm wrong it's a way better story if we find some stool in the trunk back to the
investigation the New Hampshire state police crime lab worked through all of the evidence we have Trooper Chuck West
was the seasoned investigator spearheading this investigation of course the two knife sheaths were of the
greatest interest they could tell the investigators a lot about their killer or Killers as judgment Ridge which will be
this week's recommended reading said about the sheaths quote they were the glass slippers of the zantop murders
search the countryside to find their rightful owners and the Mystery would be solved end quote West the trooper
followed the sheath evidentiary Trail the the knife sheaths were identical they were made of a black material
called kidex with black straps and distinctive markings they bore logos reading SOG specialty knives the sheaths
were for a specific model of knife this is the SOG SEAL 2000 the New Hampshire Deputy medical examiner said knives like
that were consistent with the stab wounds unfortunately the SOG SEAL 2000 was SOG specialty knives best
selling knife model and the knives were not assigned serial numbers but the big thing though is knives right so you're
going to go we're not looking for one killer anymore we're we're looking for two yeah I as as a detective I'm not
looking at this scene and thinking we have a snake eyes type killer here showing up with with a knife and in each
hand this would appear to me we have two victims which usually can be suggestive
that we have two perpetrators and then you find two knife sheaths so I think that the the surprising thing to me as a
detective would be that they're identical knives uh that's that seems a little Oddball here but nonetheless the
Killer's big mistake of leaving these knife sheaths at the scene we saw what it did in the Idaho murders case
it's going to have very a very similar effect in this case but it's not going to be an easy task for these
investigators we talked about the the good oldfashioned detective work that they were doing behind the scenes that's
exactly what's going on here so as said this is the best-selling knife model for
this SOG specialty knives brand they don't have serial numbers they do sell a lot of these Knives By the way of mail
order online cataloges there were companies local companies that that sell these knives as well Ranger Joe's Smoky
Mountain Knives works the list of local retailers who carried these knives were numerous from the book judgement Ridge
quote on February 12th SOG produced a somewhat narrowed down list of the individuals companies Distributors
military accounts and foreign accounts where it shipped seal 2000 model knives it was a 69 page report that the that
the brand gave to law enforcement you said 69 with 297 separate listings accounting for
4,929 knives yeah almost 5,000 sold yeah so we got a lot of knives to to sort through we're we're looking for a needle
and a knife stack Trooper West decided to focus on the sales of two knives at the same time that's a good place to
start yeah or two knives by the same purchaser within a short period of time while the sheath knife research was
proceeding at a snail's pace yeah I think this took them about 18 days other investigative Avenues were being pursued
so everyone and we mean everyone was interviewed by police this included the zantop students friends family but also
their cleaning lady and a driveway snowplow guy police police had to sort through all of the incoming information
not all of which was reliable a lot of witnesses purported to see a lot of things right reporting that the xant
Toops were at Niagara Falls or in a local grocery store produce section at the time when we know that they were
dead again we see this in a lot of Investigations right especially in these close-knit communities where you have
people they just want to help so so either they misremember something or they are relaying something to police
and investigators that is not true but they may believe that they saw the xant Toops or somebody res resembling the
xant Toops at a restaurant or out on the town that weekend but one man named Paul
new city had some actual information about a possible suspect vehicle on the day before the murders he had been a
passenger in a vehicle on trescott Road right that's right near the xanto's house right he says a green Subaru came
barreling out of their driveway so fast it almost hit the car he was in he glimpsed over to try to see the driver
and what he says he saw was a young pale clean shaven thin white male with dark hair who looked quote
Punk new city told the Valley news like a punk like a like had like a punk looked to him okay new city told the
Valley News quote it made a pretty strong impression on me people around here don't leave their yard at that rate
of speed end quote so he's he's clarifying why he remembered this and why he made special note of it because
it startled him and it it seemed way out of the ordinary plus keep in mind at this time too we have police and we have
the newspapers they're actively asking the public if you've seen anything unusual
or strange in this area we want to know so a green Subaru vehicle was added to the list of beyond the lookout Vehicles
yeah and police made note of the Youth of the driver remember going into this and looking at this especially early on
in the investigation one thing of consideration for investigators was the potential that
a student was responsible so we're talking College age so the Youth of the driver the youthful look of the driver
to our witness here is lining up with parts of your investigation already another piece of evidence soon entered
the chat this is lab test and Analysis of the physical evidence found at the scene revealed that two of the
bootprints found at the scene etched in blood they were distinctive in fact they
could be traced to a specific brand of Footwear they were mask hiking boots men's size 112 so we have some suspects
we do have some leads again this is in the newspapers this is in the media so it's all hands on deck yeah we have we
have leads that law enforcement is working the purchase of the knives this eyewitness report again the crime scene
big house but small crime scene and we have evidence we have fingerprint evidence evence we have bootprint
evidence plus we have the the sheaths that were left behind so I I think if you're law enforcement you have to
believe that you you have enough pieces of the puzzle that you could possibly put this together and solve this crime
absolutely yeah you're looking at this as an investigator and I hate to use this term because it sounds so strange
but it is a term that that some detective bureaus use you would describe this as a sexy
case so a sexy case is one that that is that has captured a stool in the trunk yeah that's where it starts or moose or
moose stew whatever it was the jury still out stew or look they smell and taste the same but if you have a case
that is catching Statewide or national attention and you have evidence right you have
leads those are the kind of you shouldn't be concerned about if it's selling papers or if your or if
your face is going to get on the old TV screen but if you got a case where you got leads you want something to work you
want something to chase down and they have that here and one of the things here that's that starts to take shape is
in mid-February you got all these tips leads and evidence and such but you got Trooper Chuck West who noticed that
in that sales report of the knives that 69 page sales report that he got from the from the
brand he noticed that there was a reseller in the next state in Massachusetts that had purchased a large
shipment of these knives 124 of them so he contacts the mass State Police and sends them to contact that
seller and obtained some copies of the sales records and reports that that seller would have the seller said that
the knives had been selling like hot cakes and had sold 84 of the 124 knives that he had
purchased now looking at the sales records Trooper West he catches a break here one buyer had bought two SOG SEAL
2000 knives at the same time that knife purchased those knives were purchased Within weeks of the
murders the buyer lived in Vermont this is like 30 m away from the xanto's house
the buyer's name was listed as Jim Parker he had paid $180 the purchase price with a money
order and requested two-day delivery of the knives the knives were shipped to him at 10 Bradshaw Crossroad Chelsea
Vermont it's February 15th we have New Hampshire State Police and Vermont State Police they go to the home of this Jim
Parker the investigators had learned with surprise that the knife purchaser Jim Parker was actually a 16-year-old
boy yeah his father was John Parker so John Parker answers the door he's got detectives from two different state
agencies there he says this is a this is a nice family in a nice area Mr John Parker says detectives come on in let's
come on in we're happy to help I don't know anything about what you're asking about but let's let's sit around the
kitchen table can I get you some coffee some water what have you uh and the son is there as well Jim
Parker was there as well so now we have 16-year-old Jim Parker with his father John
Parker sitting at the kitchen table with detectives from two state agencies there's a sergeant Bruno
present he says that he noticed the veins on the throat of the teenage boy as throbbing like throbbing he says
throbbing as though his heart was pounding uncontrollably they asked Jim Parker whether he had bought two SOG SEAL 2,000
knives he says yes he had bought the knives and brought them to his friend's house his friend's name is Robert Tock
they bought the knives he says to cut saplings down and to to use them out in the woods and to build forts and things
like that but these knives I I should have came up with a great description of these knives these knives are rather
large they're heavy they're bulky remember we have the medical examiner saying that it was not just a large
sharp knife but he described it as a sturdy knife would have been used in the killings and the boys or at least here
Jim Parker telling the detectives yeah I bought the knives for me and my friend this is what we were going to use them
for however they were too big and bulky that they didn't work well with what we had purchased them for so we wanted they
spent $180 on these knives these are teenage boys they wanted to get rid of these
knives but that they wanted to sell them so they could get some of their money back so he told the detectives that they
drove the two of them went to an army navy store and Burlington Vermont and they were trying to sell them to the
retailer there so the retailer that store could sell the knives and make some money as well he says the store
wasn't interested in buying them from us but while we were there a man in the store had overheard us attempting to
sell them to the store and made us an offer on the knives at the end of the day he says that we ended up selling the
knives to this man for 60 bucks a knife recouping $120 of the 180 they spent on the knives yeah then when they go ask
his friend about what happened with the knives he corroborates the story and so you go well that checks out yeah the
problem here though for Jim Parker in this little sitdown with his dad involved not only is he like
uncontrollably nervous in fact remember the movie Aliens when the when the the alien baby
grows inside of the person and then just kind of explodes out the the stomach yeah that's how this Sergeant Bruno
described Jim Parker's neck he's like what was going on in that kid's neck looked like there was an alien baby
growing inside the problem for Parker becomes this is the story as the captain points out checks out when they talk to
his buddy where the problem becomes is they ask Jim Parker okay we get it you don't know what that guy what his name
was he's just some other guy in the store could you describe him for us well he starts giving this description of
somebody that's like oh he's like between 5'8 and 6'2 um 175 to 220 lbs I mean he gives a
description that is so vanilla and really doesn't seem to really describe any one person in any detailed fashion
right he you know you could line up a a a an army of 30,000 men who would re resemble this very
vague description provided by Jim Parker as said Jim Parker appeared to be uncontrollably nervous in front of the
officers so they do question him about that they say you know what's going on here you appear to be very nervous or
scared and Jim Parker does tell them he goes I I I'm not nervous because I did anything or have anything to hide I'm
nervous because you you you guys are cops and I'm not used to talking to police before the officers left the
Parker House Trooper West noticed in the Parker driveway a green 1996 Subaru station wagon just like the
one the witness Paul new city had reported seeing speeding out of the xanto's driveway on the day before the
murders [Music] want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage join us tomorrow for
part two until then be good be kind and don't live [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey this is Jeff Lewis from Radio Andy
live and uncensored catch me talking with my friends about my latest obsessions relationship issues and
bodily ailments with that kind of drama that seems to follow me you never know what's going to happen you can listen to
Jeff Lewis live at home or anywhere you are download the SiriusXM app for over 425 channels of adree Music Sports
entertainment and more subscribe now and get 3 months free offer details apply

The Dartmouth Murders /// Part 1 /// 778

Part 1 of 2

www.TrueCrimeGarage.com (http://www.truecrimegarage.com/)

The 2001 homicides of two Dartmouth College professors completely shocked and rocked Hanover, New Hampshire to it's core. No one could imagine something like this happening in a town best known for being the home of an elite academic institution. Half and Susanne Zantop were both loved and very highly respected by students and faculty at the Dartmouth College. The Zantop’s bodies were found on a Saturday evening, inside their home by a friend, who had arrived as an invited dinner guest. The double homicide investigation that followed was headed up by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office. This was an “all hands on deck” situation with multiple law enforcement agencies working the case. The investigation went beyond state lines and tested both the college and the community.

Beer of the Week - Gravel Donuts by Outerbelt Brewing

Garage Grade - 4 and a half bottle caps out of 5

Check out “Off The Record” a fun and wild 5 Bottle Caps Garage show available for your listening pleasure on Patreon and Apple Subscription.

Get more from True Crime Garage on Patreon (https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeGarage458?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link)

patreon.com (https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeGarage458?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link)

‎True Crime Garage: 10 Crimes that left America Speechless on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-garage/id1062418176?i=1000664281462)

podcasts.apple.com (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-garage/id1062418176?i=1000664281462)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brief Summary

The episode details the shocking Dartmouth murders of professors Hal and Suzanne Zantop and the ensuing investigation.

Key points

Murder Motives Explored. What drives humans to kill? The podcast delves into the complexities of murder motives.
The Zantops' Tragic Evening. On January 27, 2001, Hal and Suzanne Zantop were found murdered in their home.
A Shocking Discovery. Roxanna Verona arrives for dinner only to find the Zantops lifeless in their study.
AG's Press Conference. The Attorney General addresses the public, warning the killer to take no comfort in their freedom.
Boston Globe's Salacious Article. A misleading article suggests a love affair motive in the murders, later retracted.
Knife Sheaths Found. Two identical knife sheaths are discovered at the crime scene, suggesting multiple killers.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

What if a murder is carried out just because the killers are bored?

Questioning the motives behind senseless killings.

4:14WatchAug 7, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from True Crime Garage TV

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.