Closing arguments

The case of Neil Entwistle is now in the hands of the jury. The prosecution rested its case today, and the defense decided not to present any witnesses. Both sides gave closing arguments, and then the judge gave instructions to the jury.

Defense lawyer Elliot Weinstein went first, arguing that Rachel Entwistle killed herself and her baby daughter, Lillian. He displayed a quote from a respected forensic pathology textbook on a monitor: "The distinction between homicide, suicide, and accident may be difficult or impossible, yet it is the first question asked by the investigator in every death involving a shooting."

Weinstein argued that Neil had no motive to commit the murders. He had no insurance policy on his wife or daughter, his financial problems were not as severe as the prosecution claims, and his interest in sex sites was no reason to kill, Weinstein said. "How many millions of people visit these sites each day?" he asked.

He theorized that Rachel held Lillian where she thought her heart was, and fatally shot Lillian, wounding herself. Then, according to the defense, Rachel shot herself in the forehead and died instantly. "You know the breast wound was the first wound because of the bruising," he said. While this was going on, Neil was running errands. At 11:30, Weinstein said, Neil bought two lattes from Starbucks, and at 12:31 he checked his email on the computer in the basement after entering the house through the garage. Then he went upstairs, found the bodies in bed, saw Joe Matterazzo's .22 revolver on the sheet, and "knew instantly what had happened." He then covered the bodies with a blanket, returned the gun to the Matterazzos' Carver home so that the police would not know what Rachel had done, and went to England to be with his parents. Neil did not call 911, get help, or tell Sgt. Manning about the murder-suicide because he wanted to protect his wife's reputation. "His foremost purpose was to protect Rachel's memory, to protect her honor," said Weinstein. "Human emotions are not predictable, and you know that in your own life experiences."

Weinstein criticized investigators for having "filters on their view of evidence" that caused them to assume Neil was the culprit. "No one was open to even considering the possibility of suicide," he said. Specifically, Weinstein mentioned that no one had tested Rachel's wrists, sleeves, or the fitted sheet on the bed after her hands tested positive for gunshot residue. Additionally, investigators did not test the crime scene extensively enough for occult blood, did not test the murder weapon to see its gunshot residue dispersement pattern, and did not look into whether Rachel suffered from postpartum depression. Nor did they test Neil's laptop for fingerprints to determine whether or not Rachel used the computer. "That is not fair to you, and that isn't fair to Neil," he said.

Furthermore, Weinstein pointed out that Rachel's DNA may only have been found on the inside of the revolver, and that investigators swabbed two locations on the gun with the same swab, potentially contaminating the evidence. Also, Neil did not dispose of his laptop or the gun or prepare a convincing story for the police, friends, and Rachel's relatives, which he would likely have done if he were guilty.

"There is no evidence to support the prosecution's theory that Rachel did not fire the gun," Weinstein said. "Please do not compound this tragedy," he told the jury at the conclusion of his argument.

Next, assistant district attorney Michael Fabbri went to the podium to give his closing argument. He pointed out Neil's alleged visits to sites about killing and sex and held up a newspaper clipping with ads for escorts, asking "What does that say about the depth of his relationship with Rachel and Lillian?"

Fabbri called the gunshot residue on Rachel's hands a "red herring" and said that the defense's scenario was impossible. "The whole idea of committing suicide by shooting through another person makes no common sense," he told the jury. Instead, Fabbri pointed to the fact that Rachel's DNA was found only on the barrel of the gun, while Neil's was found on the grip.

According to Fabbri, Neil "shoots Rachel, he shoots Lillian, the crying and screaming coming out of Lillian, I suggest he could not handle or tolerate...he could not face that. That's why he lays them out, that's why he puts the pillow, that's why he covers them up." He called it "unimaginable" that Neil had not called for help and pointed out that he had rented a car, driven 800 miles, and spent a night in a hotel in England before going to his parents' house.

Fabbri argued that Rachel had no motive to commit a murder-suicide. "She had her home, she had her car, she had her family, she thought she had a loving husband," he said. Neil, on the other hand, "was the one who came here, did not have friends, did not have family...he was failing to provide for his family." According to Fabbri, Neil "got to the tipping point" and "just maybe, the statements he made to Trooper Manning about suicide, he was talking about himself."

Fabbri also disputed Weinstein's assertion that Rachel may have performed internet searches for killing and suicide, since she spent most of her time caring for Lillian and "trying to set up her home." Additionally, he said that the Starbucks receipt that Weinstein mentioned was actually from January 18, not the 20th.

Pointing at Neil, Fabbri said "He is the one who pulled that trigger twice...unfortunately, it was a homicide committed by a husband against his family."

Earlier in the day, the court heard the rest of Sgt. Robert Manning's testimony, which consisted of a second recorded phone conversation between him and the defendant. During the call, Neil reiterated his version of events, and Manning informed him that the keys to the Matterazzos' home were on the keychain that was found in his BMW, contrary to what Neil had previously said. Neil repeatedly asked how long it took for Rachel and Lillian to die and what time they died. "I don't think they suffered a lot," Manning replied. Toward the end of the conversation, Neil said, "It's a shock...You don't want to know what happened, you don't want to believe what happened."

At the end of the day, Judge Diane Kottmyer gave the jurors detailed instructions, and they were released at 3:30 so that the lawyers and judge could make sure all exhibits were in order. The jury has the option of finding Entwistle guilty of first- or second-degree murder. They will begin deliberating tomorrow morning.