2001 Dartmouth College Murders - First Murder Attempt

First Murder Attempt

Andrew Patti, a resident of Vershire, Vermont (a town a few miles east of Chelsea), says that Tulloch and Parker attempted to murder him and his family in the summer of 2000. Patti's tale appeared in the 2003 book Judgment Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders, and in 2004 Patti shared his story in more detail with Massad Ayoob of American Handgunner magazine.

Patti states that on July 17, 2000, Tulloch and Parker went to Patti's remote house, armed with hunting knives, intending to murder the inhabitants and to steal their belongings. Near the house, they dug makeshift graves for their intended victims. Then late at night, Tulloch knocked on the door while Parker waited off to the side in the bushes intending to ambush the homeowner when he opened it.

Inside, the 47-year-old Patti, at home with his 11-year-old son, was alerted to the teens' presence by the sounds of his dog barking. Suspicious of the knock on his door at such a late hour, he answered the knock by going to the door and pulling back the window blinds without opening it. Behind his back he held a Glock pistol at the ready.

Claiming to be a stranded motorist, Tulloch asked to enter the house, but Patti refused. After receiving several more requests for entry, Patti became concerned enough to hold up his Glock where Tulloch could see it. Then Patti closed the blinds on the door and went back to call the police. When he got to the phone, he discovered that the line was dead. But when he returned to the door, Tulloch and Parker had left the house. They did not return.

Tulloch and Parker did not attempt to strike again for another six months. During that time they upgraded their weaponry, purchasing high-quality SOG SEAL 2000 combat knives over the Internet.