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June 25, 2008

Alert: Entwistle convicted of fatally shooting wife, child

WOBURN, Mass. -- A British man was convicted today of shooting to death his wife and infant daughter after jurors rejected his claim the woman had killed their baby then committed suicide while snuggled together in bed.

Neil Entwistle, 29, closed his eyes and shook his head slightly upon being found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife, Rachel, 27, and their 9-month-old baby, Lillian Rose.

Prosecutors maintained he was in debt and dissatisfied with his sex life when he fatally shot his family in their rented Hopkinton home in 2006. After the shootings, he fled to his native England.

The defense did not put on any witnesses. Instead, Entwistle’s attorney claimed Rachel Entwistle shot Lillian Rose and then killed herself while the two snuggled in bed.

Entwistle acknowledged he did not call police when he found the bodies. He claimed he returned the gun to his father-in-law’s home 50 miles away because he wanted to preserve his wife’s honor.

Jurors deliberated just a day and a half before reaching their verdicts. He also was convicted on two weapons charges.

Sentencing was scheduled for Thursday morning. In Massachusetts, the sentence for first-degree murder is automatically life in prison without the possibility of parole.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 3:11 PM | Permalink

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