Entwistle trial, day 3

Prosecution witnesses continued their testimony today in the trial of Neil Entwistle. The first witness of the day was Kim Puig, who owned the house that Neil and Rachel Entwistle rented in Hopkinton. She said that they had requested a six-month lease on the home, but because she was unsure of their ability to pay, she offered them a three-month lease. The rent was $2700 per month, and by the time of the alleged murders the Entwistles had paid $8100, which included two months rent and a security deposit.

Next, Pamela Jackson, who works as the "welcoming lady in Hopkinton," told the court about how she visited the Entwistles on January 15, shortly after they moved into the Hopkinton house. She said that Neil asked about country clubs, religious groups, and mother's groups in the area and that Neil and Rachel had a "loving" and "adorable" relationship. Additionally, she testified that Neil told her he was self-employed and worked in the insurance industry.

The next two witnesses, Michael Sheehan and Marianne Chandler, work for the Massachusetts Port Authority and are involved with overseeing the parking system at Logan Airport. They established that Neil parked his BMW in a garage near the international terminal after 8:00 p.m. on January 20, left at about 9:30, and then returned at nearly 11:00. The court got to see security camera footage of Neil paying for his parking.

Julie-Anne Aloisi, an investigator for Citizens Bank, testified about the Entwistles' finances. She explained a chart of financial transactions that took place with Neil and Rachel's bank account between January 19 and 22. Shortly after 8:30 p.m. and again shortly after 9:00 p.m. on January 20, someone made several attempts to withdraw money from the account from ATMs at Logan Airport. The prosecution introduced additional surveillance videos of Neil, one showing him at an ATM at Logan airport, apparently trying to get funds for a flight to England. Although many of his attempted transactions were denied, he succeeded (using the overdraft protection feature of his account) in getting the $800 that ne needed for a plane ticket.

Then Carol Cox and Mary Hannon, who both worked for British Airways at Logan Airport, testified that Neil obtained an electronic ticket the morning of January 21 and boarded British Airways flight 238, which left shortly after 8:00 a.m. for Heathrow in London. He bought a one-way ticket and took no luggage with him. Cox described him as "pleasant, calm, and polite" and said on cross-examination that although he had to board last so she could verify that he had actually purchased a ticket, he never acted agitated or tried to get her to hurry.

In the afternoon, Rachel's college friend, Joanna Gately, told the court that she and her sister, Maureen, had plans to eat dinner with the Entwistles in their Hopkinton home on January 21, some time between 4:00 and 7:00. When they arrived a little after 7:00, they were unable to get into the house. Joanna called Rachel's mother, Priscilla Matterazzo, who had left a note on the door after being unable to get into the house for a lunch date, and she later called the Hopkinton police. At about 8:30, Sgt. Michael Sutton and Officer Aaron O'Neil arrived, opened the front door with a Blockbuster card, and did a cursory search of the home, during which they found nothing out of the ordinary. The officers let Joanna take the Entwistles' dog, Sally, outside to do her business, and then left. The Gately sisters were so concerned that they stayed in their car at the house overnight. In the morning, Joanna called Priscilla again, drove to stores such as Bob's and Stop and Shop to look for the Entwistles' BMW, and obtained the passcode to the garage door from the neighbors. She and Maureen entered the house again through the garage, walked and fed Sally, and went upstairs, where they noticed that the TV was on in the living room and a radio was playing classical music in baby Lillian's bedroom. Finally, Joe and Priscilla Matterazzo arrived with Priscilla's friend Theresa Pratt and her daughter, and everyone went to the Hopkinton police station at around 5:00 p.m. to file a missing persons report. Later they heard the news about Rachel and Lillian's deaths and were interviewed by the police.

The final witness of the day was Officer Aaron O'Neil, a patrolman with the Hopkinton Police Department who searched the Entwistles' house on January 21 at the request of Joanna Gately. He gave his Blockbuster card to his partner, Sgt. Sutton, who used it to jimmy open the door. Both policemen searched the first floor, where Officer O'Neil noticed toys strewn about, Sally in her crate in the living room, and food left on the table as if someone had just eaten dinner. Officer O'Neil turned on a digital camera that he found on a table in the kitchen and found that the last picture was taken on January 19. Then, Sgt. Sutton searched the second floor while Officer O'Neil searched the garage. Neither discovered anything out of the ordinary during this initial search.

On cross-examination, defense lawyer Elliot Weinstein criticized Officer O'Neil for breaking into the house, turning on the camera, and failing to discover the bodies. He called the Blockbuster card "the item of choice for law enforcement to get past the lock" and asked him, "Were you looking for a person when you grabbed that digital camera off the table?" Weinstein emphasized the fact that the policemen "looked thoroughly" and found no blood, no broken objects, and nothing out of the ordinary. The police did not have a warrant to conduct the initial search.