What Experts have to say
Our experts weigh in
Throughout the trial, the Daily News has invited a panel of experts to comment on what is happening in the courtroom. The panel members are: Wendy Murphy, a former Middlesex assistant district attorney and current victim/witness advocate; John LaChance, a former federal prosecutor and current defense lawyer based in Framingham, and Steve Huff, a professional crime blogger who runs two Web sites. Check back often for our experts' opinions. And if you want to share your opinion, visit our blog.
Timeline: So Far...
Jan. 16, 2006 -- Neil Entwistle visits the adult dating World Wide Web site "Adult Friend Finder."
Jan. 16 and 17 -- Entwistle views a Web site describing how to kill people. He also searches the internet on how to commit suicide, how to kill someone with a knife and euthanasia.
Jan. 18 -- Entwistle searches the internet for "escort services,'' including "Blonde Beauties Escort SVC.'' based in Worcester.
Coming Up
Neil Entwistle will serve his time at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley. His conviction will be appealed. Under Massachusetts law, all first-degree murder convictions are appealed.
Poll
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Click on the headline above or "read more" below for brief updates from the courtroom throughout the day.
COURTROOM UPDATE - 6/13/08: Chemist: Gun shot at Rachel was close to pillow
posted at 4:24 p.m.: Gunshot residue tests on the pillow case under Rachel Entwistle's head revealed a gun was shot within 18 inches from the pillow, a state police chemist said today.
State police chemist Deanna Dygan said during her testimony that there was lead vapor found on a bloody pillow taken from under Rachel Entwistle's head..
Dygan said such vapor typically travels no more than 18 inches from the muzzle of the gun.
She also said lead particles found on the pillow could have traveled three to four feet.
Dygan also said some of the blood found on the pillow was high-speed spatter.
posted at 1:21 p.m.: An eBay fraud investigator said today that a PayPal account registered to Neil Entwistle was the target of several automatic refunds.
The refunds, Jeremy Roybal said, were automatically issued by eBay on Jan. 20 and Jan. 21, 2006 to buyers who did not receive the goods or services agreed upon with whomever registered the account.
He also said there were several PayPal accounts registered to various e-mail accounts registered to Neil Entwistle. There was also an account registered to Rachel Entwistle.
What was being sold was not said during testimony this morning.
Roybal is scheduled to continue his testimony after the lunch break.
posted at 11:22 a.m.: Neil Entwistle's lawyer, Elliot Weinstein, today peppered a state police chemist about forensic tests not conducted during the double murder investigation.
Although chemist John Soares and other crime scene specialists tested visible blood stains on Jan. 23, 2006 during the early stages of investigation into the deaths of Rachel and Lillian Rose Entwistle, he did not do tests for unseen blood.
"Your effort was to be thorough?" Weinstein asked. "You weren't as thorough as you might have been?"
Soares said, "I don't agree with that. I made a decision not to test for non-visible blood when there was visible blood."
Soares also said he found no visible, or non-visible, blood from the Entwistles' BMW, which was found at Logan Airport.
Items collected from the BMW included two water bottles, a Dunkin' Donuts cup, a Starbuck's cup, a sponge, car keys, another set of keys and some clothing.
Soares is expected to continue testifying after the morning break.
Also today, the court was experiencing some humming in the sound system that could not be corrected.
"It's Friday the 13th, you have to expect some problems," Judge Diane Kottmyer said.
- By Norman Miller