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Rochester teen who killed parents will get shot at freedom

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n this, May 14, 2013, file photo, Robert Dingman is escorted out of Merrimack County Superior Court in Concord, N.H. (Courtesy AP/Jim Cole)

DOVER, N.H. - The Rochester teenager who instigated the brutal murder of his parents 20 years ago will get another chance at freedom next year during a resentencing allowed under a 2012 Supreme Court ruling.

A hearing at Strafford County Superior Court on Thursday began setting the groundwork for the resentencing, which could include witness testimony from both sides, additional evidence discovery and even direct testimony from convicted murderer Robert Dingman, who along with his 14-year-old brother, Jeffrey, fatally shot their parents inside their home because they were tired of what they characterized as strict parental constraints and discipline.

Jeffrey Dingman, who testified against his brother at their widely watched 1997 trial, began parole in March 2014.

Robert Dingman, who was 17 at the time of the murders, was sentenced to life without parole. The Supreme Court ruling, however, ordered resentencing to any minor convicted of murder who had received a life sentence.

Strezlin told The Lebanon Voice that the ruling paved the way for the resentencing, which will likely take place sometime next year.

Strezlin and lawyers for Robert Dingman were in court on Thursday discussing the particulars on how to move forward with the case. Another status hearing will likely be scheduled in December.

No jury will be involved in the resentencing, only a judge, Strezlin said, adding that witness testimony, new evidence and even testimony by Robert Dingman could be on the table.

Ironically, when Robert Dingman killed his parents, a 17-year-old was considered an adult, which is why he could get the life without parole maximum, but since 1996, New Hampshire's law has shifted adulthood to 18.

However, the resentencing does not guarantee Robert Dingman a reduced sentence. The judge could reimpose life without parole.

During the 1997 trial Jeffrey Dingman said his older brother instigated the killings, which they carried out using their father's .22 caliber handgun.

Testimony revealed the two teens took turns fatally shooting and taunting their mother and father on a Friday night in February.

After the carnage the two teenagers stuffed their parents' dead bodies into garbage bags, putting their father's corpse in the attic, their mother's in the basement.

Later that night Jeffrey is said to have gone out to play basketball with friends, while his elder brother visited a girlfriend.

When parents Vance and Eve Dingman, both 40, didn't report to work the following Monday, co-workers alerted police who visited their home on Old Dover Road and found the bodies.

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