Thursday, August 16, 2012

Dad loses appeal for retrial in murder of 9-month-old daughter, her mother (Boston, Massachusetts)

Remember dad NEIL ENTWISTLE?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2188313/Neil-Entwistle-British-man-convicted-killing-wife-baby-daughter-rented-Massachusetts-home-loses-appeal-retrial.html

British man convicted of killing wife and baby daughter in rented Massachusetts home loses appeal for retrial

The Nottinghamshire computer engineer was jailed for life without parole in 2006

He was convicted of killing wife Rachel and their nine-month-old daughter Lillian Rose

Police raided the home twice and the second time they found both bodies

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 12:25 EST, 14 August 2012 | UPDATED: 05:26 EST, 15 August 2012 ..

The highest court in Massachusetts rejected the appeal of a British man convicted of killing his wife and baby daughter in their rented home, saying in its decision released today that warrantless searches of the home were justified because those inside might have been in danger.

In arguing for a new trial, lawyers for Neil Entwistle said saying evidence obtained during the warrantless searches of the Hopkinton home while police were looking for the missing family should have been dismissed. They also argued that media coverage made it impossible to get an impartial jury

The court rejected the arguments, concluding that Entwistle 'received a fair trial that was ably tried and judged.'

Entwistle was convicted of the 2006 shootings of his wife, Rachel, and their nine-month-old daughter, Lillian.

The Nottingham engineer is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for their murders.

The Entwistles met as students at the University of York in England in 1999, while Rachel was in a study abroad program. Both were on the university's crew team.

The two married in England in 2003 after she graduated from College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and returned to the United Kingdom to earn a teaching certificate and be with her husband.

Months after their daughter's birth, the couple came to Massachusetts to live. At first, they lived with Rachel's parents.

The couple rented their own four-bedroom home in January 2006, but Neil Entwistle was unable to find a job. Prosecutors argued at trial that he killed his wife and daughter because he was upset about his failure to find employment.

Entwistle’s trial heard how he was heavily in debt and lying to his wife about his job prospects while secretly looking for extra-marital sex on the internet.

Rachel Entwistle's parents and the couple's friends had expressed concerns that she and her daughter were missing for days, and police found them dead in the home's master bedroom on Jan. 22, 2006, while doing a second search of the home.

His lawyer, Stephen Maidman, said police should have obtained a search warrant before entering the house a second time.

Neil Entwistle took a one-way flight from Boston to London on Jan. 21, later telling police he found his wife and baby dead on January 20 after returning from shopping, but didn't call for help.

He claimed he panicked after finding the bodies and flew to Britain without alerting the police because he wanted to be with his parents.