Briton guilty of killing wife and daughter

Entwistle, 29, originally from Nottinghamshire, shot dead his American wife Rachel, 27, [>

and nine-month-old Lillian Rose, in bed at the family home in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, in January 2006. [>

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He always denied the killings, but the jury took just 13 hours to find him guilty. He was expected to be sentenced today.[>

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Entwistle closed his eyes and slowly shook his head as the foreman delivered the verdicts.[>

He glanced at his mother Yvonne, sitting behind him with his father Clifford in the courtroom in Woburn, Massachusetts while she shook her head.[>

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On leaving the court, Entwistle looked at his younger brother Russell and shrugged, with resignation on his face.[>

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Outside, Entwistle’s parents maintained his innocence. His mother said: “We know that our son Neil is innocent and we are devastated to learn that the evidence points to Rachel murdering our grandchild and then committing suicide. [>

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“I knew Rachel was depressed. Our son will now go to jail for loving, honouring and protecting his wife’s memory.”[>

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Mr Entwistle added: “We will continue to fight for our innocent son with the hope that one day justice will prevail and our little granddaughter Lilly may rest in peace.”[>

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During the trial at Middlesex County Superior Court, which lasted almost four weeks, prosecutors alleged that Entwistle killed his family because he was sex-starved, unemployed and deeply in debt for gambling. [>

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Documents were filed claiming he was dissatisfied with his sex life and trawled the internet for sexual partners and prostitutes before and after the shootings. [>

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Entwistle claimed that he found Rachel and Lillian Rose dead in bed after coming home from a morning running errands.[>

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He did not try to give his wife or baby daughter first aid, call emergency services or tell Rachel’s parents what had happened before he flew back to his parents’ house in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.[>

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Although he did not give evidence at the trial, he told police: “After I came and found them in the bed, I covered them up. It was like I was closing them off. [>

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“My first thought was to go downstairs and get a knife from the kitchen to hurt myself, but I knew that would hurt, so then I decided to get in my car and leave the Hopkinton home.”[>

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The former IT worker claimed he had stumbled on the bodies of Rachel and Lillian Rose and had fled in panic after assuming they had been killed by intruders. [>

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Entwistle broke down in court as he was compelled to watch a police video of the bodies of Rachel and Lillian Rose being uncovered on a bed in the couple’s master bedroom. [>

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The blood-stained pyjamas, T-shirt and underwear worn by his wife and daughter when they died were also held up in court.[>

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Gunshot residue on the steering wheel of his BMW, abandoned at Boston Airport, linked him to the murders. [>

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Assistant District Attorney Michael Fabbri, prosecuting, told the trial that Entwistle had access to his father-in-law Joe Matterazzo’s house and gun cabinet and had taken a pistol before shooting his family in cold blood.[>

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Mr Matterazzo, 61, later revealed to the court how Entwistle had told him he wanted his wife and daughter buried together, because “that’s the way I left them, I mean that’s the way I found them”.[>