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Briton convicted in US of shooting wife and baby to death

A Briton was found guilty of murder on Wednesday for shooting to death his wife and baby daughter at their home in the US state of Massachusetts two years ago.

Neil Entwistle, 29, faces life in prison for killing his wife Rachel, 27, and their nine-month-old daughter Lillian. He was scheduled to be sentenced yesterday.

Prosecutors said Entwistle stole a .22-caliber gun from his wife’s parents’ home during a September 2005 visit. They said his DNA was found on the gun, which he then replaced after the January 2006 killings.

Entwistle then flew on a one-way ticket to his parents’ home in Worksop, England. He was arrested in London and extradited.

Entwistle was found guilty of both murders and of two charges of possessing arms.

Entwistle’s father Clifford read out a statement outside the courtroom saying: “We knew Neil would not receive a fair trial. We will continue to fight for our innocent son with the hope that one day justice will prevail.”

Police found Rachel lying curled up with her nine-month baby clutched to her chest when they responded to a call from worried relatives on Jan. 22, 2006.

Baby Lillian had been shot through the stomach and the bullet passed through to her mother, who had been shot in the head.

During the trial Entwistle was portrayed as a sexual pervert who spent his time devising Internet scams and setting up pornographic Web sites and who struggled to find work in the US.

Entwistle told his in-laws that he was earning US$10,000 a month advising the British military on secret computer programs, while his wife told her parents his money was tied up in offshore accounts.

In reality he had struggled to find work in Massachusetts and was funding their comfortable lifestyle with credit cards.

Shortly before the murders, he allegedly posted on the Internet a full-length picture of himself in a lawn chair, his hands gripping his aroused genitals, adding he was looking for “a bit more fun in the bedroom.”

Investigators said Entwistle had set up pornographic Web sites and was engaged in a series of Internet scams dating back to 2002 in England. On one, he allegedly used his wife’s name.
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