The Dartmouth College Murders

On the evening of January 27, 2001, Roxana Verona arrived at the Etna, NH home of her friends Half and Susanne Zantop for a dinner the couple had planned with friends that night. When no one answered the door, Verona entered the home and found the brutalized bodies of Half and Susanne, both dead from multiple stab wounds.

The murder of the Zantops shocked the tiny community of Etna and the faculty and students of Dartmouth College, where the couple worked at the time of their deaths. The murder baffled local police, who had very little experience with violent crime, much less murder. The first few weeks of the investigation were hampered by an overwhelming number of unhelpful tips from the public and considerable time was wasted on chasing false leads. When investigators finally caught up with the killers nearly a month later, their identities were not at all what anyone was expecting, and their motive for the murder made even less sense.

Resources

Belkin, Douglas, and Lois Shea. 2001. "Slayings cast pall over Dartmouth." Boston Globe, Janaury 30: 1.

Belkin, Douglas, and Marcella Bombardieri. 2001. "A faculty couple at Dartmouth slain." Boston Globe, Janaury 29: 1.

—. 2001. "Officials won't discuss motive or how evidence led to pair." Boston Globe, February 18: 1.

Bombardieri, Marcella, and Tom Farragher. 2001. "1 NH suspect to be arriagned today." Boston Globe, February 21.

Butterfield, Fox. 2002. "Teenagers are sentenced for killing two professors." New York Times, April 5.

Eddy, Kristina. 2001. "Town jholted by death of two professors." Concord Monitor, January 29: 1.

Hookway, Bob. 2002. "Zantop killing was randon." Valley News, February 20: 1.

Lehr, Dick, and Mitchell Zuckoff. 2003. Judgment Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Mooney, Brian, and Kathleen Schuckel. 2001. "Bid for a ride via CB trips up NH suspects." Boston Globe, Febraury 20: 1.

New York Times. 2002. "Youth dreamed of adventure, but settled for killing a couple." New York Times, May 18.

Storin, Matthew. 2001. "To our readers." Boston Globe, February 21.

Tillman, Jodie. 2001. "Dartmouth College reacts." Concord Monitor, Janaury 29: 8.

Zuckoff, Mitchell, and Shelley Murphy. 2001. "Love affair eyed in NH killings." Boston Globe, February 16.

—. 2001. "Love affair eyed in NH killings." Boston Globe, February 6.

—. 2001. "Vt. youth sought in NH killings." Boston Globe, February 17: 1.

Zuckoff, Mitchell, Marcella Bombardierri, Douglas Belkin, and Rachel Osterman. 2001. "Zantops were close, but a study in contrasts."

Boston Globe

, February 16: 1.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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