Two Dartmouth professors murdered

As the investigation into the murder of Dartmouth College professors Half and Susanne Zantop enters its second week, authorities in Hanover, N.H. said an arrest was not imminent but that they are optimistic about the progress of the case.

In a press conference yesterday morning, N.H. Senior Assistant Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said they are not short on leads but are being thorough about their investigation, according to the Website of The Dartmouth, the campus newspaper.

The Zantops were stabbed Jan. 27 in their home in Etna, N.H. just a few miles from the center of the Dartmouth campus, N.H. State Attorney General Philip McLaughin said Thursday in a press conference about the murders.

Repeated phone calls to the Hanover police department were not returned.

Though authorities have held daily press conferences, they have released little information concerning developments in the case because of the potential "irreparable harm" their information could do to the reputations of the people involved and the status of the investigation, Ayotte said Friday.

Police believe the killer was an acquaintance of the Zantops, according to The Dartmouth.

Roxana Verona, a member of the Dartmouth faculty, reportedly was the first to find the Zantops after entering the house through an unlocked door for dinner last Saturday evening. Verona went to the Zantops' next-door neighbors Audrey and Bob McCollum for help. Cindy, the McCollum's daughter, called the police from the Zantop residence.

Since last Saturday police have confirmed reports published by local television and newspaper sources that they have impounded a car at the Manchester, N.H. airport and have questioned friends of the Zantops who live abroad. Foreign police and the FBI are not at the moment involved, Ayotte said yesterday.

News of the homicides shocked the normally quiet and tranquil community where the last murder — the slaying of two graduate students — happened a decade ago.

"Many students, especially those that knew the Zantops, were shocked and saddened," Charles Gardner, a freshman at Dartmouth, said. "I don't think, though, that students feel unsafe or threatened, but at the same time there seems to be a feeling that the investigation has gone on too long and that there's been inadequate information released to the public."

Vice President and Secretary Tom Wright '62 wrote in an e-mail that the killings are "a devastating event to a tightly-woven community."

"Nothing such as this has happened in the Princeton University community in the 30 years I have been here," he wrote.

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Dartmouth's administration has provided counseling for students and faculty and has made campus escort services available around the clock.

"People are still somewhat worried," said Mark Bubriski, who has reported the case for The Dartmouth, which has posted daily updates on the Internet. "Not everybody is scared, but the school has certainly increased security on campus and has provided a 24-hour escort service."

The Zantops, who were known as generous and accessible professors, were longstanding members of a tight-knit Hanover community of approximately 10,000 people.

Natives of Germany, the Zantops moved to the United States to study and teach and became citizens three years ago. They had two adult daughters who live in Seattle and New York.

Susanne Zantop, 55, who had been a professor at Dartmouth since 1982, was chairwoman of the German department and taught comparative literature. She also was the Parents' Distinguished Research Professor in the Humanities.

Half Zantop, 62, became a professor in 1976 in the earth science department, where he specialized in economic geology.

Approximately 700 people attended a memorial service, which was held Saturday at the request of the family in Dartmouth's Rollins Chapel.