Morbid Podcast – "The Dartmouth College Murders"

Hosts: Ash Kelley & Alaina Urquhart
Date: October 9, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Morbid examines the chilling case of the Dartmouth College murders, in which two beloved professors, Susanne and Half Zantop, were brutally killed in their home in 2001. Ash and Alaina deliver a heavily researched retelling, balancing true crime intensity with their trademark humor and personality, while unpacking the details, investigation, and aftermath of this tragedy involving unexpectedly young perpetrators.

Main Topics and Discussion Points

Host Catch-up, Tone Setting, and October Hype

Timestamps: 01:14–13:10

• Ash and Alaina open with their usual banter—joking about Ash’s sick voice, COVID woes, and life updates.
• They discuss October programming: “This October, I think we're gonna spooky, we're gonna true crime, we're gonna alien abduct. We're just gonna try to hit everything for you guys.” (Ash, 03:36)
• Reflections on how the podcast has grown: “We used to have a countdown in this room of how many days it had been since I cried.” (Ash, 04:17)
• Tease the intensity of the coming case: “This case is not fun. No, the fun ends here. Okay.” (Elena, 05:10)

Case Overview: The Dartmouth College Murders

Discovery of the Crime

Timestamps: 14:13–22:35

• In January 2001, in Aetna, New Hampshire, friend Roxanna arrives for dinner at the Zantops. She finds the door oddly unlocked and the house silent.
• The unsettling discovery in the study: both Susanne and Half murdered, with the house in disarray but nothing obvious missing.
• Important detail: “On the floor by Hoff's left foot was a hard plastic knife sheath. Like the one used as, like, a hunting knife... she spotted a second sheath on the floor a few feet away near Susanna's sandal.” (Elena, 20:21)
• Roxanna flees, brings in neighbors, and the police are called—small-town safety is shattered.

Initial Investigation

Timestamps: 22:35–34:39

• Police and forensic team collect a large array of evidence, including 105 items and multiple fingerprints, though many are easily explained. “A total of 19 different finger and palm prints were collected from the scene... which left a small number unidentified and potentially belonging to a killer.” (Elena, 26:57)
• Notable evidence: New, unfamiliar knife sheaths designed for SOG Seal 2000 knives, “which could only be considered a hunting knife if the intended prey were human.” (Analyst, as read by Elena, 33:33)
• Community panic rises as rumors swirl and warnings go out: “The prospect of a killer just walking around made everyone in and around Dartmouth pretty fucking uneasy, I imagine.” (Elena, 38:29)

The Victims: Susanne and Half Zantop

Timestamps: 42:45–48:22

• Backgrounds sketched: German expatriates, each well-educated (PhDs from Stanford and Harvard) and beloved at Dartmouth for their warmth, integrity, and mentorship.
• “More than just mentors, the Zantops became known around campus as some of the most supportive faculty at the school... They would offer shelter for troubled people...” (Elena, 45:49)
• The couple’s kindness, generosity, and partnership emphasized throughout.

False Theories and Media Coverage

Timestamps: 49:44–54:51

• Police begin to consider personal motives, including a possible “crime of passion.”
• The press runs with rumors: “Last Friday, the Globe published a front page story that said investigators were focusing on an extramarital affair involving Hoff Zantop as a likely motive... we express regret for the pain our story undoubtedly caused them.” (Boston Globe Editor, as quoted by Elena, 52:56)
• Ultimately, this theory proves to be unfounded and damaging for the victims’ family and reputation.

Turning Point: Evidence Leads to Suspects

Timestamps: 57:16–66:10

• Investigators trace the rare SOG knife to a seller in Vermont, linking it to 16-year-old Jim Parker and his friend Robert Tullock.
• The pair are questioned; their stories are inconsistent and suspicious. Parker and Tullock are described as local class clowns with no prior history of trouble.
• “Despite the evidence pointing towards Jim and Robert as the most likely suspects, investigators still could not get themselves to believe that two fucking teenagers had savagely murdered the Zantops... At most, they thought the boys could lead them to the real killer.” (Elena, 65:32)

The Shock of the Killers' Identities

Timestamps: 66:10–76:31

• Both boys go on the run after police interest intensifies.
• Evidence (including matching fingerprints and bloody boots) ties them irrefutably to the crime.
• Arrested at an Indiana truck stop after just a few days, “so weary and rattled that one one gave his birth date as May 40th.” (Elena, 69:01)
• Shock and disbelief pervade both Chelsea and Hanover communities.

Motive and the Boys' (Lack of) Logic

Timestamps: 70:42–76:46

• Jim Parker describes the pair as "explorers" who decided on a "life of crime" because “every place had been explored.” (Elena, 70:42)
• Their plan: robbing and killing people to fund a move to Australia—“juvenile thought process, but also... absolutely diabolical.” (Ash, 71:43)
• The Zantops’ kindness led to their own fate: "It was only because Hoff and Susanna Zantop were so fucking generous and so kind... that they were willing to allow the two into the house in the first place.” (Elena, 73:50)

Court Outcomes & Aftermath

Timestamps: 77:52–80:46

• Jim Parker plea bargains, testifies against Tullock, and receives 25 years to life (eligible for parole after 16 years); Tullock receives life without parole.
• Parker is granted parole after 22 years (2024), due to a Supreme Court ruling on juvenile life sentences; efforts to resentence Tullock fail, and his life sentence stands.
• Hosts express deep anger and empathy for the victims and their family:
  • “I feel so hard for Susanna and for Hoff and for their kids... can't imagine... come to terms with your parents ever being murdered. But to be murdered by two 16 year olds who preyed on their kindness...” (Ash, 81:49)

Key Quotes and Memorable Moments

• "On the floor by Hoff's left foot was a hard plastic knife sheath... there was a second sheath on the floor a few feet away near Susanna's sandal."
  – Elena (20:21)

• “Although it might have resembled a hunting knife to an untrained eye, the Seal 2000 'could only be considered a hunting knife if the intended prey were human.' Which is the most chilling statement I've ever...”
  – Quoting the Analyst; Elena (33:38)

• "The prospect of a killer just walking around made everyone in and around Dartmouth pretty fucking uneasy, I imagine."
  – Ash (38:29)

• "We assumed it would be a couple and somebody might have to go somewhere else and grab the other person and bring them into the same room. And if there were any kids, we would have to do the same thing."
  – Quoting Parker's confession, Elena (72:34)

• “The anger that I--I can't--I'm angry right now and these aren't my parents or my friends.”
  – Ash (77:26)

• "I feel so hard for Susanna and for Hoff and for their kids... But to be murdered by two 16 year olds who preyed on their kindness..."
  – Ash (81:49)

Episode Tone & Analysis

• The episode is deeply emotional, especially as Ash and Alaina express outrage and sadness at the senselessness of the crime.
• The hosts' banter and asides provide comic relief in the early minutes but fall away as the case details emerge.
• Particular ire is directed at the injustice of the victims’ fate and the shallow, selfish motives of the killers.
• Empathy is evident: “You just hope... he figured out his [stuff] in prison and plans to do better... You hope he got it together with the frontal lobe development.” (Ash, 81:11)

Timeline of Crucial Moments

| Timestamp | Segment/Event Description | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------| | 14:13 | Case introduction; friend discovers the Zantops | | 20:21 | Discovery of knife sheaths at scene | | 33:33 | Sheaths identified as human-hunting tools | | 38:29 | Community panic sets in | | 52:56 | Globe apologizes over affair rumor | | 58:23 | SOG knife traced to Jim Parker | | 66:10 | Both suspects flee; police issue alert | | 69:01 | Arrest at Indiana truck stop | | 72:34 | Motive: planning murder to fund escape to Oz | | 77:52 | Sentencing of Parker and Tullock | | 79:18 | Parker released on parole (2024) | | 80:15 | Tullock’s life sentence upheld |

Conclusion

This episode of Morbid is a thorough, vividly researched, and emotionally charged exploration into the Dartmouth College murders—a case that shattered the illusions of small-town safety, left a campus in mourning, and stunned the nation with its young assailants and senseless violence. Ash and Alaina weave together victimology, forensic intrigue, and heartfelt commentary, leaving listeners incensed at the loss while reflecting on the enduring impact of such tragedies.

Final Words:
“We hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it weird, you know, not... to keep it this weird.”
– Elena (84:11)