Husband In Mass. Murders Balking?

Relatives of a slain mother and baby are confident authorities will "bring to justice those responsible,"

The bodies of 27-year-old Rachel Entwistle and 9-month-old Lillian were found in a bed in their Hopkinton, Mass., home Jan. 22. Both had been fatally shot. Husband and father Neil Entwistle, described as a "person of interest" in the probe, left for Britain around the time of the deaths. There have been no arrests.

The 27-year-old British citizen went to the U.S. Embassy in London on Friday to meet with investigators. Police said they drove him to the embassy from his parents' home in Worksop, England. A Nottinghamshire Police spokeswoman said Entwistle left the embassy "after helping them with their inquiries."

It was unclear what information, if any, Entwistle provided to investigators.

Middlesex County District Attorney Martha Coakley's office would not comment on media reports, which rely on anonymous sources, saying Entwistle refused to answer questions on the advice of a lawyer.

"There was no formal notification that he has retained any legal counsel either here or (in Britain)," Coakley spokeswoman Emily LaGrassa said on Sunday.

Neil is said to have spoken to British authorities, but there are reports he refused to meet with Massachusetts authorities who flew to England to question him.

A phone call to the Entwistle home in Worksop on Sunday was not immediately returned.

Authorities have said Entwistle took a flight from Boston's Logan International Airport either late Friday or early Saturday, but LaGrassa wouldn't specify which day: "It's not something that we're going to release publicly."

A funeral Mass is scheduled for Wednesday in Plymouth, followed by burial in Kingston.

It's not known if Neil Entwistle will attend.

According to T.J. Winick of CBS station WBZ-TV in Boston, the London Times says Neil will return to the United States Wednesday to go to the funeral.

"The entire family is overwhelmed by the loss of Rachel and Lillian and the events of last weekend," family friend Joe Flaherty said in a statement on behalf of Rachel's mother, Priscilla Matterazzo, stepfather Joseph Matterazzo, and Rachel's brother, Jerome Souza.

"Rachel was a wonderful wife, daughter, granddaughter, sister and mother," Flaherty said. "She was always first to share her beliefs, her love, and her support for others. With the birth of Rachel's daughter, Lillian Rose Entwistle last April, Rachel shared her greatest love — that of being a mother."

Flaherty, a longtime family friend, is an attorney and former State Police detective who headed the Suffolk County homicide unit. He read the statement at a Cambridge law office, and refused to take questions.

The statement did not name Neil Entwistle, who also was not mentioned in the obituaries published in the Patriot Ledger of Quincy (Massachusetts). The obits say Rachel and Lillian are survived by "the loving Matterazzo, Cooke and Souza families, as well as many dear family members, both here and in England."

The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm asked Flaherty about Neil several times Monday, and he kept refusing to comment.

The family's silence about Neil

"I practiced in (Coakley's) office," Murphy said. "Law enforcement and the D.A.'s office share a certain amount of the investigative information with the family in homicide cases. So you can bet, if the family was barking up the wrong tree in terms of believing that Neil killed his wife and child, the D.A.'s office and the police would have told them something different. They would have certainly not excluded him from the obituary. I think it speaks volumes about not only what the family thinks, but what law enforcement thinks."

In their statement Sunday, relatives said they are "grateful for the outpouring of prayers, love and support offered by family, friends and strangers alike," Flaherty read.

"As the family continues to grieve, we also celebrate and are thankful for the time we had with Rachel and Lilly. The family asks for your continued prayers," he continued.

The family requests that the media keep away on Wednesday "to allow us the room to grieve quietly and out of the spotlight."

"Rachel was so close to her mother," Flaherty said to Storm. "They had contact daily, maybe five or six phone calls back and forth. She was very close to her mother. She had been like that since she was a child. I mean, she was just always very, very close to her mother. Her father died when Rachel was only 9-years-old. And, when the mother didn't hear from Rachel, within hours of the last time she spoke with her, she became concerned."

Reporter Winick says it's clear the tragedy is taking its toll on both families. Neil Entwistle's mother was seen breaking down outside her home, while her other son, Russell, tried to comfort her.