Teen's Dad Delayed Calling Police

Thursday, February 22nd 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LEBANON, N.H. (AP) â€” The father of one of two teen-age suspects in the stabbing deaths of two Dartmouth College professors waited about eight hours before notifying police that his son had fled, according to court documents.

John Parker watched his 16-year-old son drive away from their Chelsea, Vt., home in his mother's car about 3 a.m. Friday, then followed the boy to the home of Robert Tulloch, 17, according to an arrest warrant affidavit released Wednesday.

The affidavit, signed by New Hampshire State Police Sgt. Robert Bruno, says the father then returned home and found a note from his son asking him not to alert police.

Parker placed a call to the New Hampshire State Police about 11 a.m., according to the affidavit, triggering a manhunt for the teens, who were arrested Monday at a New Castle, Ind., truck stop.

James Parker remained jailed Wednesday in Indiana. Attorney Richard Kammen said the family was ``trying to come to grips with things.''

Tulloch, meanwhile, was arraigned in Lebanon District Court on two counts of first-degree murder in the Jan. 27 slayings of Half and Susanne Zantop in their Hanover home.

He answered only ``yes, your honor'' when asked if he understood the charges and was ordered held without bail. He is expected to enter a plea at a hearing next week.

``We represent a terrified teen-age boy who is trying to deal with very tragic circumstances,'' Richard Guerriero, Tulloch's public defender, said after the five-minute arraignment.

Assistant Attorney General Kelley Ayotte declined to say whether the teens would be tried together and wouldn't comment on a report that one of the boys was cooperating with investigators.

Authorities have refused to discuss a motive or connection between the boys and the victims. Half Zantop, 62, taught earth sciences at Dartmouth, and his wife, Susanne Zantop, 55, was chairwoman of the German studies department.

Authorities reportedly recovered a knife sheath from the victims' home with a fingerprint that led police to one of the suspects.