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DAY 16: Closing speeches - Court hears defence theory Rachel Entwistle shot her baby then herself
CLOSING speeches in the double murder trial of Worksop man Neil Entwistle focused around whether or not Rachel could have killed baby Lillian before turning the gun on herself.
In closing today, Middlesex Superior Court heard the defence lawyer's theory about what happened back on 20th January 2006.
Elliot Weinstein told the court that Rachel, 27, placed baby Lilly on her breast before shooting the nine-month-old.
Weinstein held the murder weapon over his head and showed jurors how he believes Rachel used two hands to steady the gun before shooting herself through the top of the head.
He claimed that when Entwistle found Rachel had killed herself and Lilly, he moved the weapon, taking it back to his father-in-law's Carver home to preserve and protect the memory of his wife and child.
"Everything Neil did after finding Rachel and Lilly in that bedroom he did because he loved them," Mr Weinstein said.
"He could not call the police because he could not tell them what Rachel did," Mr Weinstein said.
"He would not tell them. He would not tarnish Rachel's memory. He drove to Carver and returned the .22 calibre. He could not tell the police what he knew. He could not tell Joseph and Priscilla what he did."
"He was distraught and devastated and he needed to go home."
Mr Weinstein said Entwistle's lack of preparation for his trip back to Worksop was further proof he did not plan or commit the murders.
"He would not have been so totally unprepared to fly to London. Neil's explanation that he needed to be home with his parents makes sense," Mr Weinstein said.
Mr Fabbri painted a different picture of the accused and asked jurors to look again at a notepad that was found on Entwistle when he was arrested.
He said it would give jurors a chance to see 'two sides' to Entwistle. He said on one side of the notebook were his feelings about Rachel and Lillian but how the other side of the notebook said Entwistle wanted to 'sell his story to the highest bidder'.
He also dismissed Mr Weinstein's argument about gunshot residue on Rachel's hands as proof she shot herself.
Mr Fabbri argued that it was only four particles 'out of thousands' that were found on Rachel's hands.
"The gunshot residue is a red herring," he told jurors.
He reiterated the argument that this would be the case if she was in the area when the gun was fired and claimed that the only other part of the gun that had Rachel's DNA on was inside the muzzle.
Which he said would be from the 'back splatter'.
"The only place it (DNA) would go when Mr Entwistle pointed this gun and pulled the trigger," Mr Fabbri said.
Mr Weinstein also used the actions of Miss Joanne Gately, an old college friend of Rachel's, to back up his theory.
The jury has already heard in evidence that Miss Gately waited all night outside the Entwistle's Cubs Path home on 21st January worrying about why Rachel was not at home for a planned dinner party.
Mr Weinstein said these were the actions of someone who was already concerned for her friend's 'state of mind' and suggested that Rachel may have confided in Miss Gately about postnatal depression.
He asked the court what motive Entwistle would have for the murders.
"Why would he do that?"
"Because he went to internet sex sites? How many millions of people visit those sites each day?"
"There's no motive to kill the woman who by everyone's account he shared a joyful loving relationship. Why would he do that?," Weinstein said.
But Mr Fabbri asked the same question of Rachel's actions.
"Why would Rachel commit suicide?" he said. "She had her home, she had her car, she had her family and she thought she had a loving husband."
Mr Weinstein's defence also centred around the fact that he said that investigators were not searching objectively, but looked for evidence to convict Entwistle right from the start.
He said they should have checked Entwistle's computers for fingerprints and DNA and suggested it was Rachel herself who looked up 'how to kill with a knife' on the internet search site Google.
In prosecution's closing, Mr Fabbri said if jurors recheck the times and dates of internet site searches they would find Entwistle had checked his own email and had done jobs searches in between looking at sex sites and looking up 'how to kill with a knife'.
"There's only one man responsible for those murders and that man is sitting right there," Mr Fabbri said, pointing at the defendant.
During his closing statement, Clifford and Yvonne Entwistle, Neil's parents, sat alongside their younger son Russell and shook their heads at the allegations.
The case continues.
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Weather for Worksop
Sunday 12 February 2012
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Temperature: 3 C to 6 C
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