Entwistle Murders

By Denise Lavoie, AP Legal Affairs Writer
WOBURN (AP) ― A state police trooper testifying Wednesday in the trial of a British man accused of killing his American wife and daughter described the heartbreaking scene he found in the family's home: mother and baby lying in bed together, both dead of gunshot wounds, the woman's right arm draped across her child's chest.

Rachel Entwistle, 27, had been shot in the head, while 9-month-old Lillian Rose was shot in the chest. Both were wearing pajamas.

Authorities say Neil Entwistle killed his wife and daughter on Jan. 20, 2006, after sinking deeply into debt and becoming despondent over his sex life.

The bodies were discovered two days later. Police missed the bodies a day earlier when they were asked by family and friends to check on the Entwistles, who had not responded to phone calls and knocks on the door of their Hopkinton home.

On Wednesday, state police Sgt. Mary Ritchie, a crime scene investigator, testified that the bodies were covered by a pile of bedding, including a heavy white comforter. The baby's head and shoulders and part of Rachel Entwistle's face were covered by a pillow.

Investigators did not initially realize the child had been shot, because her mother's arm partially covered a dark puncture on her footed pajamas.
 
"It was not evident ... because of the position of the mother's right arm covering the chest," Ritchie said.

When they moved the baby, investigators saw blood on the back of the pajamas.

Ritchie said she also saw a puncture to Rachel Entwistle's chest, above her left breast. Prosecutors have said previously the bullet that struck the baby passed into her mother. An autopsy later revealed Rachel Entwistle died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Earlier Wednesday, Sgt. Michael Sutton testified he and another officer initially searched the Entwistle house on Jan. 21, 2006, -- the day after the killings -- after a friend of Rachel's called police when she showed up for a planned dinner party and no one answered the door.

Sutton said police did a "well-being check" by walking through the house and looking around, but did not see the bodies. The jury was shown two photographs of the four-poster bed they were found in the next day, which was covered by a messy pile of bedding.

When Sutton returned the next day, after Rachel Entwistle's mother and friend filed a missing person's report, he said he detected an odor the minute he entered the home. He said he followed the odor up two flights of stairs to the master bedroom.

Sutton said he lifted a corner of the comforter and saw an adult foot. Then, he walked around to the head of the bed and lifted the comforter again.

"I first observed a small baby's face. I was looking down at the top of the head, the forehead, eyes, nose," he said. "I looked to the right of the baby's face and saw a woman's face."

The sometimes-graphic testimony appeared to take a toll on the parents of both Neil and Rachel Entwistle. Neil Entwistle's mother, Yvonne, left the courtroom and sat outside the room on a bench, red-eyed. Rachel Entwistle's mother, Priscilla Matterazzo, and her stepfather, Joseph Matterazzo, clutched hands during the testimony.

Neil Entwistle rubbed his brow and looked down when it ended.
Ritchie also was asked to identify the gun authorities say Entwistle used. She said no identifiable fingerprints were found on the .22-caliber Colt revolver.

The gun was owned by Joseph Matterazzo. Prosecutors have said they believe Entwistle took the weapon from his father-in-law's Carver home, used it in the killings, then drove more than 50 miles from Hopkinton to return it.

Prosecutors have said Neil Entwistle's DNA was found on the grip of the gun, while Rachel Entwistle's DNA was found on and in the muzzle.

Entwistle denies killing his wife and daughter. He told police he returned home from running errands and found them dead in the master bedroom. He said he was so distraught that he did not call police and instead flew home to England to be consoled by his parents.

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