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June 23, 2008

Update: Defense: Entwistle's wife killed baby, herself

WOBURN, Mass. -- A defense attorney for a British man accused of killing his wife and 9-month-old daughter has told a jury that the defendant's wife shot the baby and then committed suicide.

Neil Entwistle's attorney said Entwistle decided to "protect" his wife's honor and cover up her actions after he found Rachel and their daughter, Lillian, dead with his father-in-law's gun on the bed.

Lawyer Elliot Weinstein told jurors in closing arguments today that Entwistle took the gun and drove more than 50 miles from his home in Hopkinton, Mass., to his father-in-law's house to return it because he was "committed to not betraying Rachel's memory." The police later determined it was the gun used to kill mother and daughter.

Prosecutors are expected to give their closing later today.

-- The Associated Press


The defense rested Monday without calling any witnesses after jurors heard a recorded interview of Entwistle asking how quickly they died.

Prosecutors claim Entwistle, 29, was despondent over heavy debt and dissatisfied with his sex life.

Entwistle told police he returned home from running errands on Jan. 20, 2006, and found his wife and daughter dead in a bed in the master bedroom. He said he flew to his native England the following day because he wanted to be consoled by his parents.

Prosecutors rested their case Monday after playing a 45-minute recorded conversation Entwistle had with a state trooper on Jan. 26, 2006, five days after he returned to England. In the phone conversation, State Police Sgt. Robert Manning told Entwistle that the state medical examiner had ruled his wife and daughter died of gunshot wounds.

Entwistle had told the same trooper in an earlier conversation that he thought his wife and daughter had been shot, but left the house without calling for an ambulance because it was “obvious” they were dead.

“When I saw Lilly, you know, that’s when I could see what happened,” Entwistle said.
Entwistle asked Manning if the medical examiner was able to determine how quickly they died.
“I can’t tell you that, but I can probably tell you that it was probably quick,” Manning said. “I don’t think they suffered much.”

Entwistle choked up when he asked about his daughter.

“It was just the state of Lilly,” Entwistle said. “The blood on her looked like it was more than just a shot.”

Closing arguments were expected late Monday morning, followed by the judge’s instruction on the law to the jury.

Posted by Jack Perry  at 12:25 PM | Permalink

Comments

A murder/suicide? Then why didn't Neil take the stand? This is the first I have heard or read about the supposed manner in which these innocent lives were taken. I find it hard to believe.....

T | June 23, 2008 12:34 PM link

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