Entwistle Murders

WOBURN (AP) ― A British man shot his wife and baby daughter to death as they lay snuggled in bed together, covered them with a thick comforter, then bought a one-way ticket home to England, a prosecutor told a jury Friday, portraying the man as a cold-hearted killer who was despondent over his sex life and heavy debt.

But Neil Entwistle's defense attorney said he was a loving husband and father who was so crazed with grief after discovering their bodies in their Hopkinton home that he flew to England to be consoled by his parents.
Entwistle, 29, is charged in the fatal shootings of his 27-year-old wife, Rachel, and their 9-month-old daughter, Lillian Rose, in January 2006.
The lawyers gave their opening statements Friday in Middlesex District Court after four days of jury selection.

Rachel Entwistle's mother, Priscilla Matterazzo, then was called as the trial's first witness.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Fabbri used Entwistle's own words to challenge his claim that he was grief-stricken after discovering his wife and daughter with gunshot wounds after he returned home from running errands.

"I didn't even call 911 or call for help," Fabbri quoted Entwistle as telling police.

But defense attorney Elliot Weinstein repeatedly told the jury Entwistle loved his wife and daughter.

"Everything he said and everything he did thereafter, he did because he loved them, he did because he loved them both," Weinstein said.

Fabbri said Entwistle had grown increasingly unhappy after the couple moved to the United States from England, where they met and began dating while both attended the University of York in 1999. Entwistle, a computer engineer, had been unable to find a job, had fallen into debt and began trolling the Internet looking for sex, Fabbri said.

In the months before the killings, Entwistle visited Web sites for several local escort services, joined a group called "Adult Friend Finder" and began exchanging e-mails with women he told he wanted to have "discreet (sexual) relationships."

Weinstein told the jury both Rachel and Neil Entwistle were computer savvy, and said other people used their computer as well.

"Over and over and over again during this trial, you will learn that things are not the way they first appear," he said.

Fabbri said Entwistle's DNA was found on an ammunition container, a gun lock and the grip of the .22-caliber handgun used to kill Entwistle's wife and daughter. He said Rachel Entwistle's DNA was found in and on the muzzle of the gun, which was owned by Rachel Entwistle's stepfather, Joseph Matterazzo.

Authorities believe Neil Entwistle took his father-in-law's gun, shot his wife and daughter, then drove 40 miles back to the Matterazzo home in Carver and returned the gun.

Rachel's mother, Priscilla Matterazzo, described how she and Rachel's friends became concerned when they went to the couple's home for planned visits on Jan. 21, 2006, and no one responded to repeated knocks at the door.

She said police did not find anything wrong when they did an initial search of the house, but discovered her daughter and granddaughter during a second search the following day.

"I was shocked and upset," she said.

During cross-examination, Entwistle's attorney, Stephanie Page, focused her questions on a collection of guns owned by Joseph Matterazzo.

Priscilla Matterazzo said her husband kept the guns in a locked cabinet in a bedroom, but left the key to the gun cabinet on a kitchen countertop.
 
She said her husband liked to go target shooting and had taken Neil Entwistle with him at least twice.

Both the prosecution and the defense told the jury the couple appeared happy to their friends and family. Weinstein called Rachel and Neil "partners" and "soulmates."

But Fabbri said there was another side to Entwistle. He said when police arrested Entwistle in London three weeks after the killings, he had a notepad with him. On one side, Entwistle professed his love and the "deep loss" he felt for his wife and daughter. On the other side, Fabbri said, was a note about how "he wants to sell his story to the highest bidder."

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