BOSTON, Feb. 9, 2006

Brit Charged With Slaying Wife, Baby

Neil Entwistle Faces Murder Charges For Massachusetts Killings

  • Play CBS Video Video Souza Family On Entwistle

    CBS News RAW: A spokesperson for Souza family spoke about the arrest of Neil Entwistle, who was charged for the murder of his wife, formerly Rachel Souza, and their daughter.

  • Video What Lies Ahead For Entwistle?

    Only On The Web: Mark Philips reports on what may lie ahead in the extradition process for Neil Entwistle, who was charged in Massachusetts with the shooting deaths of his wife and baby.

  • Video DA Discusses Entwistle Charges

    CBS News RAW: Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley discusses the charges against Neil Entwistle in the shooting deaths of his wife and baby after authorities arrested the man in England.

    • Neil Entwistle, centre, is escorted into Bow Street Magistrates Court in London, Thursday Feb. 9, 2006.

      Neil Entwistle, centre, is escorted into Bow Street Magistrates Court in London, Thursday Feb. 9, 2006.  (AP)

    • The grave of Rachel Entwistle, 27, and her daughter Lillian, 9 months, is seen unmarked and bare, light patch, at the Evergreen Cemetery in Kingston Mass., Thursday afternoon Feb. 9, 2006.

      The grave of Rachel Entwistle, 27, and her daughter Lillian, 9 months, is seen unmarked and bare, light patch, at the Evergreen Cemetery in Kingston Mass., Thursday afternoon Feb. 9, 2006.  (AP)

    • In this file photo, Neil Entwistle leaves his parent's home in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, central England, refusing to answer questions from reporters on Jan. 31, 2006.

      In this file photo, Neil Entwistle leaves his parent's home in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, central England, refusing to answer questions from reporters on Jan. 31, 2006.  (AP)

    • Rachel and Neil Entwistle with their daughter, Lillian.

      Rachel and Neil Entwistle with their daughter, Lillian.  (CBS/The Early Show)

    • Neil Entwistle with his daughter, Lillian.

      Neil Entwistle with his daughter, Lillian.  (CBS/The Early Show)

    Previous slide Next slide
  • Interactive Guns In America

    State-by-state gun laws and death rates, maps of recent school and workplace shootings and facts on who's at risk.

  • Interactive FBI Crime Statistics

    Explore the latest information on U.S. crime, from acts of violence to property damage.

(CBS/AP) 
Among his Web site ventures: Millionmaker.co.uk, which promised customers as much as $6,000 in monthly earnings; srpublications.co.uk, which offered a manual that it said would help men enlarge their penises; and srpublications, which offered software at reduced prices on eBay.

Neil Entwistle's first court appearance is to be Friday at Bow Street Magistrates Court, the customary venue for extradition cases. A decision on sending him back to the U.S. must be made by April 15, District Judge Timothy Workman said.

Ben Brandon, Entwistle's lawyer, told the court he may make an application for the murder suspect to be released on bail at Friday's hearing.

The lawyer confirmed he had discussed the prospect of Entwistle returning voluntarily to the U.S. to face the allegations.

"I understand you have been asked about the possibility of your consenting about your return to the United States and I understand you are choosing not to do so at this stage," Workman asked Entwistle, who wore gray tracksuit pants and a black sweat shirt.

"At this stage, yes," Entwistle said, confirming he would not agree to voluntarily return.

Rachel Entwistle's family issued a statement saying they were "deeply saddened" by the arrest.

"Rachel and Lilly loved Neil very much. Neil was a trusted husband and father, and it is incomprehensible how that love and trust was betrayed in the ultimate act of violence," the statement said.

Massachusetts authorities flew to London late last month to interview Neil Entwistle at the U.S. Embassy, but officials didn't say whether he answered any questions, Christina Hager of CBS station WBZ-TV in Boston reported. He was considered "a person of interest" at the time, not officially a suspect, and had been staying at his family home in Worksop, in central England.

Police were first called to the Entwistles' Hopkinton home on Jan. 21 but didn't see anything wrong, authorities said. Coakley said that friends of the couple had showed up for a dinner party but no one answered the door, and that Rachel Entwistle's mother called police when she couldn't reach her daughter.

After a missing person's report was filed, police visited the home again. During the search, they detected an odor and discovered the bodies in the bedroom. Coakley has said the bodies were covered by bedding and "almost not visible."

Rachel Entwistle and her daughter were laid to rest together in a wooden casket on Feb. 1 at a service attended by about 500 mourners, but not Neil Entwistle, Hager reported. The memorial service was at the same Roman Catholic church where the baby was baptized less than two months earlier.

Neil Entwistle didn't return for their funeral.

He had met his future wife in 1999 at the University of York, where she was spending a year studying abroad. They married in 2003 and stayed in England until last year. Their daughter was born in April.

The family moved to Massachusetts and had rented the Colonial-style home in Hopkinton less than two weeks before she and her daughter were killed.

Relatives told investigators that the Entwistles did not have a history of marital problems, and said Neil Entwistle was looking for a technology job at the time. His wife had been a teacher but also was not working.

In Massachusetts, a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.


©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Exclusive Webshow

Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie." Watch Now

Latest News
News in Pictures
Scroll Left Scroll Right
Connect with CBS News

Stay connected with the CBS News using your favorite social networks and online news applications: