Neil Entwistle: British killer blames his wife for deaths

A British man convicted of murdering his wife and nine-month-old baby has written to his dead partner’s parents from prison to claim she was behind the deaths. 

Neil Entwistle, now aged 40, was found guilty in 2008 of killing his 27-year-old Rachel and their daughter Lillian in Hopkinton, near Boston, Massachusetts.

But former IT consultant Entwistle has written to Rachel’s parents from prison to insist she had killed their baby before turning the gun on herself. 

The letter is revealed in a book by Entwistle’s 62-year-old father Cliff, who also maintains his son’s innocence, the Mirror reported. 

In the letter he wrote: ‘I did not kill Rachel and Lilly but I do carry the guilt and in no way blame Rachel. And this is where it is difficult for me to share openly.

‘For over seven years, I have never shared what I saw and what I know of all that transpired on the day we both lost Rachel and Lilly, the two most wonderful people ever to bless our lives.’

Offering to speak to Rachel’s parents in person Entwistle said he wanted to ‘share with you all I know’ about the deaths. 

The Nottingham engineer is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders on January 20, 2006. 

Autopsy results showed that Rachel died of a gunshot wound to the head and Lillian of a gunshot wound to the torso. 

Entwistle fled the country hours after the deaths, boarding a British Airways flight to London at 8.15am on January 21 after withdrawing $800 in cash. 

Entwistle pictured with his wife Rachel. He has written to Rachel’s parents from prison to insist she had killed their baby before turning the gun on herself

Neil Entwistle is led from district court in Massachusetts in 2006 during his murder trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison

He was later arrested at Royal Oak underground station in London and extradited to the United States to face trial for murder.  

Prosecutors argued at the murder trial that Entwistle killed his wife and daughter because he was upset about his failure to find employment. 

The trial heard that he was heavily in debt and lying to his wife about his job prospects while secretly looking for extra-marital sex on the internet.

Shortly before the killings he had searched the web for instructions on how to kill someone, prosecutors said. 

He is serving the two life sentences at the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.  

Entwistle had claimed in a taped phone call from Britain that he found his wife and baby dead after returning from a shopping trip. 

The Entwistles met as students at the University of York in 1999, where American student Rachel was studying abroad. 

Neil Entwistle’s father Clifford Entwistle, mother Yvonne Entwistle and brother Russell leave the courtroom after the guilty verdict. His father has maintained his innocence 

Rachel Entwistle (right) and daughter Lillian, who were murdered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts

The two married in in 2003 after she graduated from College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and returned to the UK to earn a teaching certificate and be with her husband.

Months after their daughter’s birth, the couple moved to Massachusetts and rented their own four-bedroom home in 2006.   

Cliff Entwistle has insisted ever since his son’s conviction that Neil was innocent of the murders. 

He has previously said: There is no way on God’s Earth that my son would murder his wife and child. 

‘He was not given a fair trial, key evidence that proves his innocence was swept under the carpet and people are finally beginning to realise this.’ 

Cliff Entwistle said flying home hours after the deaths had been a ‘natural instinct’ after a traumatic situation.