Jun 25, 2008 12:57 pm US/Eastern
Reporter's Notebook: Inside The Entwistle Trial
(WBZ)
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Judge Diane Kottmyer. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
June 25, 2008
10:27 a.m.
Day two of deliberations in the Neil Entwistle double murder trial began as an exercise in familiarity. A well-dressed Entwistle entered the courtroom through a side door, quietly greeted his attorneys, turned and nodded to his parents and brother in the front row of the gallery behind him.
The courtroom buzzed with conversation until court officers announced the judge. We stood as the jury entered.
The judge asked jurors if they'd discussed the case with anyone outside the jury room or watched or read any media reports. The jurors shook their heads and were sent to resume their deliberations at 9:12.
Yesterday (Day one of deliberations) began the exact same way. (A pop-culture reference here to the movie "Groundhog Day" would not be off the mark.)
The burning question for those of us waiting out this jury: Will today end the same way, with no verdict? Or is this the day we'll learn Neil Entwistle's fate?
June 24, 2008
5:49 p.m.A little more than six hours after beginning deliberations, jurors in the Entwistle trial put forth a question. They requested a printout of the activity log from Neil Entwistle's laptop computer from January 20, 2006. That's the day Rachel and Lillian Entwistle were shot to death.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to the request and the printout was furnished.
During trial, a computer forensics specialist who examined the computer hard drive testified Neil Entwistle logged in to his email around 12:30. This is about 90-minutes after he says he discovered the bodies.
The defense pointed out Entwistle logged in as part of an ongoing job search.
The jury left shortly after 4 p.m. without reaching a verdict.
June 24, 2008
12:44 p.m.After twelve days of listening -- to opening statements, witnesses, evidence, (including recorded phone calls between the defendant and a state police sergeant) closing arguments and instructions from the judge -- the jurors in Neil Entwistle's murder trial are talking.
At least we assume they are. No one really knows what happens behind the closed doors of a jury room. This adds to the undercurrent of adrenaline that fuels the experience of covering a jury watch, especially that of a major trial.
We wait for any sign, any hint of progress. A question from the jury, for example, triggers a rush into the courtroom, speculation over what the question will be, and then, once it's asked, speculation over what the question meant -- and specifically, whether it means the jury is close to reaching a verdict.
This jury took over the case at 9:13 this morning. Six men and six women - after assuring the judge they'd not discussed the trial with anyone - left the courtroom to consider their verdicts and Neil Entwistle's fate.
No one -- not even they themselves at this point -- knows how long it will take.
One thing I can tell you with confidence is, I won't know when they're close to a verdict. I'll just know when they've reached one. We expect to get about 30 minutes notice. I'll keep you posted.
When a verdict is reached we will carry it live on WBZ-TV and wbztv.com.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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