: I can't imagine why anyone would want to kill a German
: professor, but an earth sciences prof might have discovered
: something that got him killed.

(I'm wondering now if this was also "a message to Clinton", specifically because the boys are from the town of Chelsea. This recent new piece is the first I'm aware of that says the boys "had a history" of burglarizing homes.)

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Deadly invasion of couple's home
likely began as burglary, source says

By HARRY R. WEBER

The Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. - Six months after the murders of two

Dartmouth College professors, prosecutors are leaning
toward burglary gone awry as a motive, a law enforcement
source said Wednesday.

"It's the most rational explanation I've heard," said the
source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We're more
comfortable with that theory than any other because there's
not anything that's more persuasive."

Half and Susanne Zantop were found stabbed to death Jan.
27 in their Hanover home. Two Chelsea, Vt., teenagers -
Robert Tulloch, 18, and James Parker, 17 - are charged with
the murders.

The teens had a history of burglarizing homes. They also
had no connection to the victims prior to the incident, the
source said.

?If one exists, we don?t know about it,? the source said.

Attorney General Philip McLaughlin declined to comment
on the report. Lawyers for Tulloch could not immediately be
reached for comment.

Cathy Green, a lawyer for Parker, said she couldn?t
comment on specific evidence because her client was a
juvenile at the time of the crime. Prosecutors are seeking to
have Parker tried as an adult.

"There has been a lot of misinformation in this case that's
been attributed to anonymous sources, in particular police
sources," Green said. "If we ever get out of juvenile court,
I'll be glad to talk to you."

Prosecutors do not have to prove motive to convict the teens,
and when Tulloch?s trial begins this January it is possible
that no concrete motive will be offered, the source said.

The source said investigators have ?overwhelming DNA
evidence? that the two suspects killed the Zantops and that
should be enough to gain convictions.

According to court documents, police found two knives
stained with the victims' blood in Tulloch's bedroom.
Fingerprints and footprints inside and outside the Zantops?
home also tie Tulloch and Parker to the crime, court
documents say.

A judge has ordered Tulloch to submit blood, hair and
handwriting samples to the state to compare with evidence
found at the scene, but defense lawyers are fighting the
order. The judge has allowed the lawyers to appeal his
ruling to the state Supreme Court.

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