Jury seated in Entwistle trial

June 5, 2008 04:58 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Franci Richardson, Globe Correspondent

Opening statements are slated for Friday morning in the highly publicized trial of Neil Entwistle, the British man accused of shooting to death his wife and daughter in 2006 in their Hopkinton home.

Rachel Entwistle, 27, and Lillian Rose

About 187 potential jurors were interviewed by Middlesex Superior Court Judge Diane Kottmyer in the past four days, with scores being excused from service because they had already formed an opinion as to Entwistle’s guilt in the double-murder trial.

By 3 p.m. today, eight men and eight women had been picked -- for a jury of 12 with four alternates -- to decide the fate of Entwistle, 29, in a trial that is supposed to last three weeks, ending just before July 4.

“We believe now this jury will do its best and they will find that the Commonwealth’s theory will not be supported and that, in the end, Neil Entwistle will be found not guilty,” said defense attorney Elliot Weinstein in a brief press conference outside the courthouse.

Entwistle, who is supported by relatives who arrived from England and have been in court daily since Tuesday, is accused of killing his wife, Rachel, and 9-month-old baby, Lillian Rose. The two were found in the couple’s bed Jan. 22, 2006, by police conducting a wellness check. An autopsy found that Lillian was shot in the abdomen and Rachel was shot in the head.

Neil Entwistle

Weinstein had asked Kottmyer to allow the jury to see the Hopkinton home to follow the movement of police officers as they conducted their searches of the home. Police initially did not find the victims' bodies until the second time they entered the home at the request of concerned relatives.

Weinstein also wanted the jury to view the house in Carver where Rachel’s mother and stepfather live and where the gun allegedly used to kill the mother and baby was stored.

Entwistle fled the country before the bodies were found and was arrested in England the following month. He waived extradition and was returned to the United States to stand trial.

Kottmyer denied Weinstein's requests, but invited Weinstein to raise the issue again during the trial if it became apparent that the jury "view" would be helpful.