Thursday July 12 2001, Dartmouth Telegraph:

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Appeal request granted in Dartmouth murders

By J.M. HIRSCH, The Associated Press

CONCORD - The question of whether one of the teen-agers accused of killing two Dartmouth College professors must provide prosecutors with blood, hair and handwriting samples may be headed to the state Supreme Court.

Last month, Grafton County Superior Court Judge Peter Smith ordered Robert Tulloch to comply with the state?s request. But Wednesday the judge granted a request by the 18-year-old?s lawyer to appeal the decision to the high court.

Smith?s decision does not guarantee the Supreme Court will agree to hear the case and it was not clear how long it might take the court to decide whether it will.

When Smith ordered Tulloch to provide the samples in June, he said doing so would not violate the teen-ager?s constitutional right against self-incrimination.

The teen-ager?s lawyers had argued that giving the samples would violate his rights. They said the state Constitution says a defendant can not be made to ?furnish evidence? that could be used against him.

But prosecutors said courts repeatedly have interpreted the constitution to mean a defendant cannot be made to testify against himself.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Kelly Ayotte objected to the request to take the issue to the Supreme Court, saying the issue already has been decided in other cases and an appeal would not change the matter.

Richard Guerriero, Tulloch?s lawyer, said Wednesday the judge?s decision highlights the importance of the issue. He said he plans to file his pleadings with the Supreme Court soon.

Investigators want the blood and hair samples to compare with evidence found at the crime scene and the handwriting samples to compare with notes found in Tulloch?s bedroom that refer to the surveillance of a building.

Tulloch and James Parker, 17, both of Chelsea, Vt., are charged with first-degree murder in the Jan. 27 stabbing deaths of Half and Susanne Zantop in their Hanover home.

Tulloch?s trial tentatively has been set for January. Prosecutors are trying to certify Parker, who was 16 at the time of the murders, to stand trial as an adult.

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