Thursday, February 09, 2006

Entwistle Arrest

Formerly a person of interest in the murders of his wife, Rachel, and 9 month old daughter, Lillian, Neil Entwistle is now the prime suspect. Entwistle was arrested by British authorities in a London tube station at 11:50 (6:50 am ET) this morning. A sealed warrant had been issued late yesterday. Held at a London police station, he faces charges of two counts of murder, illegal possession of a firearm, and illegal possession of ammunition. Considering the charges, it seems likely that the murder weapon has been found. Massachusetts police have been examining the gun collection of Rachel Entwistle's stepfather, running ballistics tests and searching for fingerprints and DNA evidence over the last couple of weeks. The Entwistles had been living in her parents' Carver home until ten days before the murders. Jim Hammer of Fox News reports that the family car has been absent from his parents' Worksop home since at least 7 am yesterday. Was Neil Entwistle attempting to flee? So far, there've been no reports of dyed hair or a goatee.

Boston Herald article

Update: 9:30 am CT

Moments ago, Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley held a press conference to update the public on the status of the investigation. Several new items of information were released.


  • Forensic evidence links a .22 caliber handgun from the collection of Rachel's stepfather, Joseph Matterazzo, to both Rachel and Neil. It is known that Rachel had not previously handled the gun. It wasn't specified whether that evidence is in the form of fingerprints, DNA, or both.

  • Police believe that the shootings occurred Friday morning.

  • It is believed that the gun was returned to the Matterazzo home late Friday morning or early Friday afternoon while Rachel's parents were out of the house.

  • At 5 am Saturday morning, Neil Entwistle was at Logan International Airport attempting to raise funds to purchase a ticket to London. He was ultimately able to do so using a credit card.

  • Police believe that a murder/suicide may have been the original intent. Neil Entwistle had substantial debt in England, no assets, and no means to support his family.

  • At the time of the shootings, Rachel and Lillian were dressed in clothing that could be worn as sleepwear.

  • Police do not believe that Neil was attempting to flee authorities, but simply to avoid the media. He was arrested without incident at a west London subway station.

  • A hearing will be held later today or tomorrow in England. It could take days, weeks, or months for Entwistle to be extradited to the United States.




I'm going to withhold comment on the murder/suicide supposition for now, except to say that Neil Entwistle is a coward, and my sympathy is for the victims and their family.





One more thing...Steve Huff has received some interesting correspondence regarding the case. Don't miss it.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was floored to read that Tim was not Entwistle or a friend. Interesting indeed.

Your timeline is excellent.

The extradition will happen, but it will take a while. Perhaps even quite a long while.

The UK LE often seem like they are bumbling, because they are not permitted to say as much about a case as US LE. But they are competent.

Average Jane said...

Looks like extradition won't be a problem now. Entwistle has voluntarily agreed to return to the US.

BOSTON HERALD

Average Jane said...

Buckling under mounting debt and marital pressure, Neil Entwistle turned to the Internet for tips on how to commit suicide but stopped short of putting the research to use after allegedly gunning down his wife and baby girl, sources said.
...
Rachel Entwistle, a teacher who was also not working, "recently" found out about his cyber scams, Coakley said.
MILFORD DAILY NEWS

Anonymous said...

ENTWISTLE AFFIDAVIT

Anonymous said...

CBS4 Timeline Slideshow