Click on the headline above or "read more" below for brief updates from the courtroom throughout the day.

Commonwealth Medical Examiner Dr. William Zane stands by a diagram of a victim bullet entry wound on the head of Rachel Entwistle during the trial Thursday.

POOL PHOTO BY C.J. GUNTHER

COURTROOM UPDATE - 6/19/08: Medical examiner questioned

posted at 4:45 p.m.: A state medical examiner this afternoon said he never knew gunshot residue was found on both sides of Rachel Entwistle's hands.

However, Dr. William Zane said that does not change his opinion that she and her daughter, Lillian Rose, were homicide victims.

"It (the presence of gunshot residue) only tells me she was in a room a gun was fired in," Zane said during testimony during Neil Entwistle's double murder trial.

Prosecutor Michael Fabbri asked if Zane had ever seen anyone who committed suicide through the top of the head. Zane said no.

He also said he had never heard of someone shooting themselves through the body of another person.

Stephanie Page again asked if Zane ever made any effort to find out about Rachel Entwistle's life.

"In fact, you don't know anything about Rachel Entwistle's life other than what you were told by police?" She asked. Zane said that was true.

Also this afternoon, several British officers testified about the arrest of Neil Entwistle.
 

posted at 1:55 p.m.: Neil Entwistle's lawyers today questioned the medical examiner about suicide.

Throughout the trial, the defense team has questioned several of Rachel Entwistle's friends and family members about her state of mind after moving back th the Unites States in August, 2005.

They asked if she was depressed or having a hard time being away from her friends and England and having to rely on family for transportation.

But this morning, defense lawyer Stephanie Page mentioned the word suicide, peppering Dr. William Zane with questions about suicide.

She used two different forensic pathology textbooks to question suicide statistics.

"You would agree ... That handguns are the preferred method of suicided?" she asked. He said yes.

She also asked if he agreed 92 percent of women commit suicide using a handgun. He agreed.

"You will agree most gunshot wounds that result in suicide are to the head and then the chest?" Page asked. Again, Zane agreed.

Zane also said a shot to the top of the head is a spot where someone could reach. He said he has never seen anyone commit suicide that way.

Page also asked about the gunshot wound to Lillian Rose. She asked if the wound, which was to the left side of the baby's chest, was where most of the people thought the heart was. He said yes.

Tht bullet passed through the baby and got lodged in the fleshy portion of Rachel's left breast.

The wound to Rachel's chest was not fatal and she could still move perfectly fine after the injury, Zane said.

If investigating a suicide, Page asked if Zane would want to know if the suicide victim was depressed, or maybe recently had a baby and was suffering from post-partem depression.

"If they had Internet access, you would want to know if someone did a search on suicide or how to kill, you would want to know that?" Page asked. Zane said yes.

Medford Police Officer Lawrence James had previously testified someone used Entwistle's computer in the days ahead of the deaths for "how to kill with a knife," and suicide.

Page also asked if Zane would want to know if someone had gunshot residue on their hands so he could determine if the person fired a weapon. Rachel Entwistle's hands tested positive for residue.

Zane said he would not want to know.

"You wouldn't willingly close your eyes to objective scientific evidence?" she asked. "You'd want to know all the facts before you issue an opinion whether it is a homicide or suicide."

Zane said he would want to know.

Zane also testified Lillian Rose died of the wound to her chest and it took "a minute or minutes," for her to die.

Page is to continue her cross examination after the lunch break.

posted at 11:34 a.m.: Rachel Entwistle died instantly from the gunshot wound to her head, a state medical examiner said this morning.

Dr. William Zane, testifying during Neil Entwistle's double murder trial, said he did not discover the bullet wound until he pulled Rachel Entwistle's scalp back because it was covered by her hair.

The bullet traveled several inches through her brain, with two fragments becoming lodged between her frontal lobes - between her eyes and ears - Zane showed on a diagram of a human head.

He also said Lillian Rose was shot in the left chest. The bullet passed through her diaphram, her walnut-sized liver, her kidney, fractured a rib and exited out of her back.

Zane said if a diaphram is significantly damaged, it would disrupt breathing and eventually the left lung could collapse.

He also said wounds to the kidney and liver would cause someone to bleed to death "very rapidly."

Also today, Medford Police Officer Lawrence James testified that someone used Entwistle's laptop computer at 12:27 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2006 to look at job search e-mails.

Also, he detailed the Adult Friend Finder profile linked to Neil Entwistle.

The site membership was paid for by Neil Entwistle's credit card, and the membership was scheduled for Jan. 21, 2006.

On the profile, the user described himself as an "Englishman," looking for ladies from the U.S.

He also said he wanted to confirm that U.S. women were "much better" in bed than British women.

Under cross examination, Elliot Weinstein showed several photos taken from the computer, including the wallpaper which featured a close-up photo of a smiling, ruby-cheeked Lillian Rose.

James also said that the airline flight search conducted on Jan. 9 was for a roundtrip flight from Manchester, England to Boston for two adults and no children. The flight was to leave England on April 6, 2006, and depart Boston on April 18.

- By Norman Miller