Thursday, 16 February 2006A British man will plead not guilty to murdering his American wife and baby daughter when he appears before a US court, his lawyer has said.
Neil Entwistle was extradited from the UK on Wednesday and is in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, where his wife Rachel and nine-month-old Lillian were shot.
The 27-year-old is accused of killing them in January before flying to his parents' house in Worksop, Notts.
If found guilty of first degree murder, he would be sentenced to life in jail.
Four-car cavalcade
Mr Entwistle's lawyer, Elliot Weinstein, said he had had "the briefest of conversations" with his client inside Hopkinton police station, and he would plead not guilty at Framingham District Court.
Mr Entwistle is due to appear at 1400 local time (1900 GMT) on Thursday.
A plane carrying Mr Entwistle to the US from the UK landed just before 1730 local time at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, north-west of Boston.
He was taken to Hopkinton police station in a four-car cavalcade, with press helicopters flying overhead, and was fingerprinted before spending the night in cells.
Outside, Mr Weinstein said: "Neil Entwistle has had a long journey from the United Kingdom to here and it's been a long procedure inside the station, the formal procedure of booking.
'Serious tragedy'
"I've had the briefest of conversations with him, and that was my decision because I don't consider the police station the environment for a private attorney-client substantive discussion.
"A very serious tragedy occurred in this town several weeks ago when a woman and her daughter were found murdered.
"The State and the Middlesex District Attorney has decided to charge Neil Entwistle with these crimes, and today at Framingham District Court we will appear for the arraignment, when he is formally charged in the court with the crimes of murder.
"At that time we will plead not guilty, and from that moment forward all of our efforts will be to see that he receives the fairest of trials with the expectation of him being exonerated... for that which he is now charged."
Mrs Entwistle and baby Lillian were shot dead on 20 January, and their bodies found in a bed at the home two days later.
Mr Entwistle left the US on 21 January and went to stay at his parents' home in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
He was arrested by Metropolitan Police officers at Royal Oak Tube station, in west London, on 9 February, and agreed to be extradited at a court appearance a day later.
'Sizeable debt'
Framingham District Court released documents on Tuesday claiming Mr Entwistle had conducted internet searches about euthanasia, suicide and "killing people with a knife" the week before his wife and daughter's deaths.
State trooper Michael Banks also gave a sworn statement that the Entwistles had accumulated a "sizeable amount of debt" that appeared "to have caused a strain in their relationship".
Mr Weinstein has been assigned to defend Mr Entwistle by the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts body which provides representation for people who cannot afford to hire a private lawyer.
BBC News
February 16, 2006 |
Thursday, 16 February 2006
UK
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