Entwistles fought over finances in months before slayings, court records show
(Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)
Neil Entwistle looked at the jury this morning as they left the courtroom to begin their second day of deliberations in his double-murder trial.
By Franci R. Ellement, Globe Correspondent, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
WOBURN -- Neil and Rachel Entwistle had argued about their finances while living with their in-laws, and investigators found evidence that the husband accused of killing his wife and infant daughter gambled online and did Internet research on bankruptcy, according to court documents made public this morning.
The couple's financial picture was so dire that Neil Entwistle had received numerous letters from collection agencies in late 2005 and early 2006, and their 9-month-old daughter, Lillian, had an insurance card from MassHealth, which provides insurance for low-income families. That is in stark contradiction to the life the Entwistles were living, which included a large Colonial-style rented home in Hopkinton and a leased BMW sport utility vehicle.
"Subpoenaed bank records showed that the defendant had money going out but not a lot going in," according to documents released this morning at Middlesex Superior Court.
The financial information was included in 150 pages of motions made public this morning that detailed evidence that was not presented to the jury during the 12 days of testimony. Judge Diane Kottmyer barred the prosecution from presenting much of the information to the Middlesex Superior Court jury, which is in its second day of deliberations in the double-murder trial. The evidence contradicts the testimony of witnesses at trial who described the Entwistles as a happy couple who showed no outward signs of discord. Neil Entwistle described their relationship as "perfect" in a phone conversation he had with State Police.
"The Commonwealth intends to introduce evidence that sometime in the fall of 2005, when the defendant and Rachel were living with the Matterazzos in Carver, the Matterazzos overheard an argument between Rachel and the defendant regarding their finances," according to documents.
The documents show that prosecutors tried to get Lillian's MassHealth insurance card admitted as evidence. Investigators also detailed Entwistle's alleged "online gambling activity in the weeks leading up to the murders," as well as online searches on bankruptcy, according to documents.
Prosecutors hoped to submit the evidence to show the "defendant's state of mind, plan, intent, and motive to kill the victims," according to the documents.
"This evidence, when juxtaposed with his claimed unexpected discovery of his wife and daughter's bodies in his home three days after the Internet searches on the defendant's computer, rationally tends to establish the defendant's identity as the person responsible for the murders," according to the documents.
Defense attorneys for Entwistle also argued that the court should exclude from trial his statement that he was not suicidal while being booked at the Hopkinton police station on Feb. 15, 2008. There was no mention of it at trial.
