Anyone Following The Neil Entwhistle Case in Mass.?

[Dan Gould]

For those who aren't aware, here's a quick summary:

The murder took place about two years ago. Mother and 9 month old daughter found shot to death in a rented home. Husband Neil left the country and returned to his native England before the bodies were found. Neil made searches on his laptop for, among other things, "escorts" "swingers" and "cheap fares to England" prior to the murder. Neil was a member of the adult website Adult Friend Finders. Right around the time his family was murdered, he checked his account to see if there were any emails received from prospective "friends".

The murder weapon was a pistol owned by the wife's step-Father. The gun was found in its case at his home. Neil had a key to the property. Two shots were fired: One entered the baby's back, exited her chest, and went several inches into the wife's left breast. This was fatal - very quickly - for the baby but a non-fatal wound for the wife. The wife died of a gunshot through the top of her head (slightly towards the front, but the path was downward into the head, not across the skull).

Neil's DNA was found on the handle of the gun (along with the step-fathers). The step-Father's DNA was found on the trigger (he used the gun two days after the murder and prior to the discovery of the bodies; he had an airtight alibi for the day of the murders). The wife's DNA was found inside the muzzle. And in a near-"Matlock" moment during the trial, it was testified that the Medical Examiner was not informed that gunshot residue tests were positive for the wife's hands.

Can you see where the defense went with this? They elicited testimony from the ME about post-partum depression and the suicide rate of women using guns. But how do they explain why the gun made it back to the step-father's house??

In a stunning courtroom development, the defense rested without calling a single witness. In his closing, the defense lawyer asserted that Neil returned the gun himself in order to protect the memory of his wife, to save her the shame of being seen as a killer of her child and a suicide. But as a matter of law, if Neil didn't testify that he did that and that was his state of mind, there is no evidence to back it up and the jury must disregard the lawyer's statement. The defense also screwed up in deciding not to present evidence about her state of mind, no doctor who prescribed strong drugs that sometimes result in suicidal thoughts. And no Neil to explain himself.

It really is an open and shut case, in some ways even more so than Scott Peterson, but I'm curious if the Brits on the board have followed it or how widespread the reporting is and what the perception is in GB. I only remembered the case after the trial started and I've followed it on a Boston Herald blog - there are an extraordinary number of Brits who keep defending this scum bag, its really sickening.

[Dan Gould]

A couple more things I didn't mention - Neil told crazy stories that made himself out to be something of a secret agent earning $10,000 a month (a contract with the CIA?) but in fact was deeply in debt.

And the pistol was long-barreled. Seven inches from the chamber to the end of the muzzle. Try to imagine how a wife shoots herself from above, with a gun like that, without the muzzle being too close to her skull (the ME said the gun was a maximum of 18 inches away). And how did her arm come down to rest across the baby's back, holding her tight against her?

It really sucks he didn't do this in Florida or Texas - if anyone deserves the death penalty, its this guy. But then again I don't think that GB would have extradited if the death penalty was on the table.

[tkeith]

I'm amazed he didn't claim she'd paused only once to reload.

Don't worry about the sentence; in the people's republic of Massachusetts, that sort of thing usually gets addressed on its own behind the bars (see the story of Father Paul Gauguin). Nearly as uplifting is the story of the two maggots who admitted killing a 6-year-old boy and raping his corpse before dumping it in a river. Some of the guards for MCI were calling into a local sports radio show (Dennis & Callahan) with specific reports of the treatment these two academy award winners were receiving courtesy of their fellow inmates. When the state shirks its responsibilities of punishment, those within that same system have a tendency to handle the issue admirably.

[robviti]

i haven't followed the case, so i can't comment on the assertions you've made. on the other hand, if the herald bloggers are anything like the paper itself, i'd be wary about drawing conclusions based on what they say.

[Jazzmoose]

And the pistol was long-barreled. Seven inches from the chamber to the end of the muzzle. Try to imagine how a wife shoots herself from above, with a gun like that, without the muzzle being too close to her skull (the ME said the gun was a maximum of 18 inches away).

Hey, maybe she stood in a chair...

[Dan Gould]

i haven't followed the case, so i can't comment on the assertions you've made. on the other hand, if the herald bloggers are anything like the paper itself, i'd be wary about drawing conclusions based on what they say.

I've made no assertions. I've reported the facts as they have been revealed at trial.

I saw on Court TV clips from the Defense summation, in which the lawyer demonstrated how she supposedly shot herself - with both hands holding the pistol above her head. Then how did she possibly end up with her left arm holding the baby to her chest, with the bullet holes lining up? Only one of many ridiculous claims made by the defense.

[BillF]

It's had some media coverage here, but hasn't been given headline treatment.

[Dan Gould]

Guilty, Guilty, Guilty!

Took eleven hours of deliberation over two days. Thom, I do hope you are right.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

sure you've heard Ma Entwistle's statements to the press after the verdict?

Comes off like that Geico gecko after smoking crack at Winehouse's flat.

[Dan Gould]

sure you've heard Ma Entwistle's statements to the press after the verdict?

Comes off like that Geico gecko after smoking crack at Winehouse's flat.

It was absolutely repulsive and disgusting:

“We know that our son Neil is innocent and we are devastated to learn that the evidence points to Rachel murdering our grandchild and then (committing) suicide,” Entwistle’s mother, Yvonne Entwistle, said. “I knew Rachel was depressed. Our son will now go to jail for loving, honoring and protecting his wife’s memory.”

If she knew Rachel was despressed, why didn't the defense put her on the stand? HOW did she know when she hadn't seen Rachel for months after they had left England for Mass. to be near Rachel's family, and her own family with near-daily contact, didn't notice any depression?

And how can you slime the victim like this as a baby killer?

And how exactly is Neil "loving, honoring and protecting his wife's memory" by coming up with this ridiculous story not when it happened, not when he was arrested, not even at the proverbial "eleventh hour" but literally at the last possible moment, the eleventh hour fifty nine minute mark, during his lawyer's closing argument? Beyond the fact that the entire story is laughable - she held the gun above her head (what suicide assumes this position?) and after firing the gun and dying instantly, her arms magically fell to her side, clutching her baby.

And consider too that Neil's interview with the State Police, he said that "blood was bubbling around Lily's mouth" - liquid bubbles around a mouth only if air is being expelled. He admits he saw his as she was dying - but still didn't call 911!

Apparently one of the issues that they will argue on appeal is that the two "well-being" searches that were conducted by the police (using a Blockbuster card to pick the lock) somehow violated his constitutional rights. I mean, the first time, they entered and walked through the house. Because Neil covered the bodies with a huge comforter, they didn't see them. Only on the second visit were they instantly assaulted by the smell of death and found the bodies then. So on the first entry, no evidence was seized. On the second entry, they found two bodies and, seeing as its now a crime scene, conducted their crime scene investigation. How can these searches be "unlawful entries"?

BTW, the Herald writer mentioned that 20/20 and Dateline had crews covering the trial, so if anyone is curious, I'd be surprised if they don't have their show dedicated to this case run sometime this week or the beginning of next.

[Jim Alfredson]

BTW, the Herald writer mentioned that 20/20 and Dateline had crews covering the trial, so if anyone is curious, I'd be surprised if they don't have their show dedicated to this case run sometime this week or the beginning of next.

I think I've read enough on here, thank you.

[Dan Gould]

Don't worry about the sentence; in the people's republic of Massachusetts, that sort of thing usually gets addressed on its own behind the bars (see the story of Father Paul Gauguin) ... When the state shirks its responsibilities of punishment, those within that same system have a tendency to handle the issue admirably.

Just read in the Herald that his first stop during his life sentence will be at the very same High-Security prison where Gauguin met his end. They'll have to catch him out of his cell though - its a single-occupancy prison.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Don't worry about the sentence; in the people's republic of Massachusetts, that sort of thing usually gets addressed on its own behind the bars (see the story of Father Paul Gauguin) ... When the state shirks its responsibilities of punishment, those within that same system have a tendency to handle the issue admirably.

Just read in the Herald that his first stop during his life sentence will be at the very same High-Security prison where Gauguin met his end. They'll have to catch him out of his cell though - its a single-occupancy prison.

at least he had cuter bunk mates!

the Gagen priest is another story.

[Alexander Hawkins]

I hope I'm misinterpreting the comments about behind bars vigilantism here? Surely you can't seriously be defending that, let alone calling it 'admirable'?

Back to the original question - it's been covered fairly widely over here - but (thankfully, because it's the type of parochialism I can't stand) there doesn't seem to have been too much defence of him by 'virtue' of his being British. No uproar over the guilty verdict or sentence, that I've seen/heard/read.

[Dan Gould]

I hope I'm misinterpreting the comments about behind bars vigilantism here? Surely you can't seriously be defending that, let alone calling it 'admirable'?

I can't speak for Thom, who used the word "admirable" but I tell you sincerely that this man deserved a death sentence and I wouldn't do anything but smile inwardly if in the future it is reported that a fellow inmate ensured that he not live out the rest of his life at taxpayer's expense.

[Jazzmoose]

I hope I'm misinterpreting the comments about behind bars vigilantism here?

No, I don't think you are. Then again, some have always had a fondness for lynch mobs...

[Dan Gould]

Lynch mobs kill people who only stand accused of something. Had this man done what he did in almost any other state, including CA, he'd be sentenced to death. In fact, I'll go a step further and really infuriate the bleeding hearts: bloody, painful death through the multiple stab wounds by a jagged shank is more appropriate for this guy than the no muss, no fuss three drug cocktail he'd have enjoyed otherwise. He shot his wife through the skull. He shot his 9 month old daughter through the back.

[robviti]

now i understand your fondness for the herald. it doesn't take a "bleeding heart" to distinguish justice from revenge, only an open heart and an open mind. this was a horrible tragedy for everyone involved, and that excludes me, you, thom, etc. entwistle will spend the rest of his life behind bars trying to deal with what he did, and that's good enough for me.

[Dan Gould]

now i understand your fondness for the herald. it doesn't take a "bleeding heart" to distinguish justice from revenge, only an open heart and an open mind. this was a horrible tragedy for everyone involved, and that excludes me, you, thom, etc. entwistle will spend the rest of his life behind bars trying to deal with what he did, and that's good enough for me.

If that's what happens, its good enough for me too. But I won't cry if anything happens to him in prison. That's the bottom line.

[robviti]

gee, and i thought you were going to go all herald on my ass. i just can't stand it when you're reasonable!