posted on February 9, 2006 11:52:31 AM
BOSTON (AP) - British authorities arrested a man Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and baby daughter, and prosecutors say he may have backed out of a plan to commit suicide after killing them in their Massachusetts home.
Neil Entwistle, who returned to his native England a day after the killings, is charged with two counts of murder and weapons-related charges, Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said.
Investigators believe he used his father-in-law's handgun to shoot his wife, Rachel, and their daughter on the morning of Jan. 20, Coakley said. She said he may have intended to kill himself as well, possibly because of financial difficulties as his Internet business ventures failed, but he didn't follow through.
The next morning, Entwistle bought a one-way ticket and got on a flight to London.
Before leaving, he returned the .22-caliber handgun to his father-in-law's home in Carver, Coakley said.
``We have forensic information that links it both to him and to Rachel, and we know Rachel had not used that gun,'' Coakley said.
Rachel Entwistle, 27, and her 9-month-old daughter, Lillian, were found dead Jan. 22 in their home in the Boston suburb of Hopkinton.
Neil Entwistle, also 27, was arrested Thursday at a British subway station and ordered held in London after telling a judge there that he would not agree to extradition. A decision on whether he will be handed over to U.S authorities must be made by April 15 under British law.
Rachel Entwistle's family released a statement Thursday saying they are ``deeply saddened'' by the arrest.
``Rachel and Lilly loved Neil very much. Neil was a trusted husband and father and it is incomprehensible how that love and trust was betrayed in the ultimate act of violence,'' said the statement, read by a family spokesman.
Police were first called to the Hopkinton home on Jan. 21 but didn't see anything wrong, authorities said. Coakley said that friends of the couple had showed up for a dinner party but no one answered the door, and that Rachel Entwistle's mother called police when she couldn't reach her daughter.
After a missing-person report was filed, police visited the home again, and during the second search, discovered the bodies amid piles of bedding. Rachel Entwistle was been shot in the head, and the baby in the abdomen, Coakley said. It wasn't clear if they were awake or sleeping when they were shot, she said.
Neil Entwistle didn't return for his wife and daughter's funeral on Feb. 1.
At the time of the killings, Neil Entwistle was nearing financial ruin, but he apparently hid the problems from his wife and family, Coakley said.
``The picture we had was of a young couple starting out with a healthy future,'' Coakley said. But in reality, she said, ``he had no money and really had no assets.''
Among his Web site ventures: Millionmaker.co.uk, which promised customers as much as $6,000 in monthly earnings; srpublications.co.uk, which offered a manual that it said would help men enlarge their penises; and srpublications, which offered software at reduced prices on eBay.
Relatives told investigators Neil Entwistle had been looking for a technology job. His wife had been a teacher but also was not working.
The couple met in 1999 at the University of York, where she was spending a year studying abroad. They married in 2003 and stayed in England until last year. Their daughter was born in April.
The family moved to Massachusetts and had rented the Colonial-style home in Hopkinton less than two weeks before the killings.
Massachusetts authorities flew to London late last month to interview Neil Entwistle at the U.S. Embassy, but officials didn't say whether he answered any questions. He was considered ``a person of interest'' at the time, not officially a suspect, and had been staying at his family home in Worksop, in central England.
A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
posted on February 9, 2006 12:01:29 PM
"A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole."
posted on February 9, 2006 12:37:16 PM
Believe me, Sir Classico, I'd much prefer the "needle" over being a "Bubba-beach" for 50 years at Cedar Junction...
"And then that little jerk Ralphie convinced all the sheep-herders to build a roller-skating rink!"
posted on February 9, 2006 01:25:06 PM
Even being Bubba's "Bee-aaah-tch" is too good for the likes of him....Now what could be worse? Shoot him in the guts and leave him there to die....just like his poor daughter had to.
posted on February 9, 2006 02:05:17 PM
Twig, did you see the pictures on tv of his little baby? She was a bundle of joy and his wife was equally adorable. How devastating.
Classic & Tom, what do prisoners think of men that kill a child? Is it a no-no, or is it just accepted as another crime?
posted on February 9, 2006 02:11:42 PM
They keep emphasizing his name on the news. Is he supposed to be someone we've heard of? Some kind of celebrity?
Dr. Arcane, revelator of mystical secrets http://www.drarcane.com
Got questions about the secrets of the universe?
posted on February 9, 2006 02:22:58 PM
It will have to be "no needle" if there is a chance to get him back over here. The Brits do not support the death penalty.
Ron
"I'm so depressed. My doctor refused to write me a
prescription for Viagra. He said it would be like putting
a new flagpole on a condemned building."
posted on February 9, 2006 03:16:34 PM
Kraft I cant locate the article (thought I had bookmarked it), but the article didnt mention how he came into possession of the pistol.
"“More Iraqis think things are going well in Iraq than Americans do. I guess they don’t get the New York Times over there.”—Jay Leno".
posted on February 9, 2006 04:47:27 PM"Classic & Tom, what do prisoners think of men that kill a child? Is it a no-no, or is it just accepted as another crime?"
Inmates who committed crimes against children (ESPECIALLY if of a SEXUAL nature) are know as "short-eyes" and are at the VERY BOTTOM of prison society. They do their time with great difficulty, as the prison authorities tend to look the other way when "Dr Psycho" decides to play "ANATOMY LESSON" with a SCREW DRIVER & their BELLIES -- "Boo hoo hoo..."
Ole Neil, with his BRIT ACCENT will probably be seen as a real sweet "fancy lad" by his neighbors -- quarantee ya that his new friends will probably be named: Neal & Bob
Hey Neil? Sucks to be you, huh, buddy?
Ralphie got 5 extra SPECIAL hugs today -- how the hell can anybody shoot a baby???
JAESUS! Give her to me & Ralphie & we would treat her like a PRINCESS!
posted on February 9, 2006 05:01:20 PM
He will be placed in what's called 'protective custody' when he arrives in prison. His life will consist of a 6 by 9 foot cell and may or may not have a small window. he will be allowed 1 hour a day of solitary yard time in a semi-outside fenced in compound that measures approximately 10 by 20 feet and he will probably be given a basketball to play with.
His food will be brought to him in his cell and it may be spit in and contain boogers from the other prisoners. No one will talk to him, other than the occasional guard that will order him to do something like turn around to be handcuffed.
He will be allowed to shower once or twice a week alone. His life will be pretty dreary but as Colin said, eventually he will be offered to be in with the general population but his life will be in danger if he chooses to accept that.
posted on February 9, 2006 05:43:21 PM
If (don't know that she was )the baby was born in England that makes her a British subject and can the British hold him for her murder there in England even if the murder was in Mass. USA? They lived in England when the baby was born up until she was about 6? months or so old, so don't know if she was born over there or not.
Wonder how the British prisons or jails are and if he is in them now since arrest. Maybe they will save us the trouble of a trial.
**************
Can't touch this! uh huh, uh huh.
posted on February 9, 2006 07:10:55 PM
I believe the trial would take place in the country where the crime was committed.Being a British subject has nothing to with it.If he was still here,he would be held without bail until his trial came up.Being the fact the he fled the country its up to Britain to extradite him back to to the U.S.However Britain does not have to extradite him,but being the nature of the crime and we're allies with Britain,I dont see why they wouldnt. Years ago two British subjects were hanged in Indonesia for drug smuggling-The Brits tried to save them,but to no avail
Entwistle-wonder if hes related to the pervert of the Who john entwistle who was arrested for downloading child pornography
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[ edited by classicrock000 on Feb 9, 2006 07:21 PM ]
posted on February 10, 2006 10:39:55 AM
Briton 'shot daughter and wife in failed suicide bid'
By Stewart Tendler and Lewis Smith
A BRITISH man burdened by debt shot his American wife and their baby daughter in an aborted murder and suicide plan, it was claimed yesterday.
But Neil Entwistle allegedly changed his mind after killing his wife and child.
Instead of turning the gun on himself he is alleged to have covered his tracks before fleeing to England.
The murder weapon came from his father-in-law’s collection and the Briton is accused of putting it back before he caught his flight.
posted on February 10, 2006 11:02:53 AM
Classic, I told you about that before, that wasnt John Entwistle, that was Pete Townsend.
Please get your classic rock facts correct (, will they ever arrest your pervert ass? maybe when the find all the porn you've downloaded?)...kidding)
.
[ edited by dblfugger9 on Feb 10, 2006 11:04 AM ]
[ edited by dblfugger9 on Feb 10, 2006 11:14 AM ]
posted on February 10, 2006 10:51:02 PM
lol pi? did I (or you) say something about that somewhere...sounds vaguely familar?
Here's your valentine from me. (smile we dance well)
And heres one for fenix while I'm at it. (But please dont co-opt me, I got enough trouble ) ..dont know why I am so into this valetines stuff today..not usually so sentimental.
posted on February 10, 2006 11:46:41 PM
Well garsh thanks, Dblf. I'm all a twitter. So I guess that's like i'm dancing with the stars.
That's kinda coincedental that she used to like to say hugh for huge because I used to go by the alias Hugh Jorgan.
NO NOT that kind of organ, the kind that you play boogie woogie on..........well, same thang I guess.
posted on February 11, 2006 12:14:52 AM
Is that the white dove of peace for Fenix? I wonder if she'll be gracious enough to accept it. I wouldn't expect her to genuflect though if I was you.
posted on February 11, 2006 12:15:21 PM
Bear, you might be interested in this - I read that Neil Entwistle claimed he didn't shoot his family, but came home from an errand and found them dead. He said he went over to his FIL's to get his gun to shoot himself, but couldn't go through with it. So I guess he's trying to say the bullets that killed them aren't the same as the ones in his FIL's gun. (??) Have you heard this?
"And then that little jerk Ralphie convinced all the sheep-herders to build a roller-skating rink!"
(, will they ever arrest your pervert ass? maybe when the find all the porn you've downloaded?)...kidding)
