Murders of Rachel and Lillian Entwistle
Neil Entwistle | |
---|---|
Born | Nottinghamshire, England, UK | 18 September 1978
Occupation | Computer programmer |
Criminal status | Incarcerated |
Spouse |
Rachel Souza
(m. 2003; died 2006) |
Children | 1 |
Parent(s) | Clifford and Yvonne Entwistle |
first degree murder | |
Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
Details | |
Victims | Rachel Souza Lillian Entwistle |
Date | 20 January 2006 |
Country | United States |
Location(s) | Hopkinton, Massachusetts |
Weapons | .22 |
Date apprehended | 8 February 2006 |
Imprisoned at | Old Colony Correctional Center |
Neil Entwistle (born 18 September 1978) is an English man convicted of murdering his American wife, Rachel, and their infant daughter, Lillian, on 20 January 2006, in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, United States. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and is incarcerated at Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
Background
Neil Entwistle was born near Nottingham and attended the University of York, receiving a master's degree in electronic engineering. He grew up in Worksop with his parents, Clifford and Yvonne, and his younger brother Russell. Entwistle's home was working class; his father was a coal miner and his mother was a cook at a school canteen.
While at university, Entwistle met Rachel Souza, an American who was studying abroad. They married on 23 August 2003, in Plymouth. The couple moved to Worcestershire, where their daughter Lillian was born on 9 April 2005. Entwistle worked in computing and his wife as a teacher of English, Drama and Theatre Studies at St. Augustine's Catholic High School in Redditch. After migrating to the US, the couple stayed with Rachel's mother and stepfather, Joseph and Priscilla Matterazzo, in Carver, Massachusetts, before finding a house of their own in Hopkinton, located 26 miles (42 kilometers) west of Boston.
Murders
The bodies of 27-year-old Rachel and 9-month-old Lillian were found on 22 January 2006 in the master bedroom of the family's rented home, where they had been living for ten days. Autopsy results showed that Rachel died of a gunshot wound to the head and Lillian of a gunshot wound to the torso.[1] The bullet that passed through Lillian also pierced Rachel's left breast. The bullets were so small that the one in Rachel's head went undetected until the autopsy.
Hours after the deaths of his wife and daughter, Entwistle purchased a one-way ticket to
A search of Entwistle's computer revealed that days before the murders, he had viewed a website that described "how to kill people" and searched for
Investigation and evidence
On the evening of 21 January, the day after the murders are believed to have been committed, police officers visited the Entwistles' home after Rachel's friend reported her missing. Though the police conducted a cursory inspection of the house, they failed to notice Rachel's and Lillian's bodies, obscured under a pile of bedding in the master bedroom. A second and more thorough search the following evening discovered their bodies.[1]
On 23 January, a Massachusetts State Police trooper called Entwistle at his parents' home in Worksop. The call lasted two hours and was recorded. Entwistle told the trooper that, on the morning of the murders, he had left his Hopkinton home at around 9:00 a.m. (EST) to run an errand and that his wife and daughter had both been alive and well, in the bed in the couple's master bedroom. He claimed that when he returned, at around 11:00 a.m., he found both had been shot dead, and had no idea who had killed them. Entwistle covered their bodies with a blanket and did not alert authorities. Entwistle claimed that he was so distraught upon seeing the corpses of his wife and daughter that he decided to kill himself. However, because he was unable to bring himself to end his life with a knife, he drove the family car to the Materazzos' house to get a .22LR caliber revolver. Finding the house locked, he told police that he decided to fly home to England to see his parents.
Police subsequently named Entwistle as a
On Thursday night [19 January 2006], Rachel was alive and had spoken with family members.
At some time on Friday morning, Neil Entwistle — with a firearm we believe he had secured at sometime before that from father-in-law Joseph Materazzo - shot Rachel Entwistle in the head and then proceeded to shoot baby Lillian, who was lying on the bed next to her mother.
We believe possibly this was intended to be a
murder-suicide, but we cannot confirm that. Obviously the murder was effected, but the suicide was not.What we believe happened next was that Neil Entwistle returned the gun to his father-in-law's home in Carver, then made preparations to leave the country. As we know, he was observed at Logan International Airport.
He purchased a one-way ticket on British Airways at approximately 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, 22 January. He was on an 8:15 a.m. flight to the United Kingdom on that day. Based upon
forensicinformation late Tuesday afternoon that linked the .22 handgun owned by Joseph Materazzo both to Neil Entwistle and to Rachel, we believed we had probable cause to seek an arrest warrant for Neil Entwistle's arrest.
Arrest and events prior to trial
Rachel and Lillian were buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Kingston, Massachusetts, with the surname Souza on their graves. They were buried in a single coffin. Lillian's birth and death certificates were edited to read "father unknown".
On 8 February 2006, a week after their funerals, Entwistle was arrested by the extradition unit of London's
After numerous delays, the Middlesex superior court began juror selection in June 2008. There were concerns that, due to the high-profile nature of the case, Entwistle would not receive a fair trial. Some media reported that potential jurors were indicating that they had already formed significant views on his guilt.[6]
Trial and conviction
Entwistle's trial for double murder began on 2 June 2008 in
Entwistle was found guilty of all charges on 25 June 2008 and sentenced to
Entwistle was first incarcerated at the
Aftermath and appeals
Entwistle's conviction was automatically appealed to the
In October 2008, Entwistle's parents filed a complaint of harassment with the UK Press Complaints Commission (PCC) against their local newspaper, the Worksop Guardian; the complaint was rejected.[17] His parents continue to insist that their son is innocent of the murders, that Rachel was the true killer and that he will eventually be cleared and released from prison. Entwistle's mother said after the trial: "The evidence points to Rachel murdering our grandchild and then committing suicide".[18]
Media
In 2008, a book titled Heartless: The True Story of Neil Entwistle and the Cold Blooded Murder of His Wife and Child, was released by author Michele R. McPhee.[19]
In December 2012, the British broadcaster Channel Five aired an Entwistle documentary entitled The Man Who Didn't Cry.[20]
See also
- Crime in Massachusetts
- List of familicides in the United States
- Sharpe family murders
- Charles Stuart (murderer)
- Murder of Laci Peterson
- Watts family homicides
- Federico murder case
References
- ^ a b US Police 'failed to spot bodies' Archived 24 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 11 June 2008.
- ^ Leonard, Tom (6 June 2008). "Neil Entwistle lived a double life, US court told". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ Murder accused moved to hospital Archived 19 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 4 January 2007
- ^ "The Man Who Didn't Cry". Real Crime. 23 July 2009. ITV Network.
- ^ Dr. David Holmes Interview, Crime Investigation
- ^ Fairness of US murder trial questioned Archived 19 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 6 June 2008
- ^ "Accused 'had plan to sell story'". Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
- ^ Entwistle Given 2 Life Sentences, WCVB-TV, 26 June 2008. Archived December 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Entwistle To Share Prison Walls With 'Mucko' Archived 2008-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, WBZ-TV, 26 June 2008
- ^ "Boston News, Boston, Massachusetts News and Local Headlines - WCVB.com". Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ "Nouse.co.uk » Entwistle tricked by US prison gang". 14 October 2008. Archived from the original on 26 October 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ "Birmingham Post – News – West Midlands News – Neil Entwistle transferred to new prison". Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ "DOC sends Neil Entwistle packing to Bridgewater lockup - BostonHerald.com". Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ [1] Archived December 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "New lawyer will assist in Neil Entwistle appeal bid - BostonHerald.com". Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
- TheGuardian.com. Archived from the originalon 3 April 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ^ "PCC rejects harassment claims from Neil Entwistle parents - Press Gazette". Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ "Parents of Neil Entwistle insist he is innocent". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
- ^ "Heartless: The True Story of Neil Entwistle and the Cold Blooded Murder of his Wife and Child". Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
- ^ "Documentary screened on Channel 5. Produced by Andy Webb". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
External links
- Neil Entwistle Murder Trial, a site maintained by the MetroWest Daily News covering the Entwistle case Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- Neil Entwistle Trial Resources
- Saltzman, Jonathan; Slack, Donovan (11 February 2006). "Entwistle told police he found his family slain". The Boston Globe.
- "Entwistle charged with killing wife, daughter in alleged murder-suicide plan". The Boston Globe. 9 February 2006. Archived from the original on 15 February 2006.
- Negri, Gloria (31 January 2006). "Rachel Entwistle is recalled as engaging". The Boston Globe.
- Raban, Jonathan (14 August 2008). "Just Two Clicks". The London Review of Books. pp. 3–9.
- Rachel Entwistle at Find a Grave