Defense calls no witnesses in Enwistle's double-murder trial

WOBURN, Mass. -- The defense in the case of a British man accused of killing his wife and baby daughter rested Monday without calling any witnesses after jurors heard a recorded interview of him asking how quickly they died.

Neil Entwistle, 29, is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Rachel, and their 9-month-old daughter, Lillian, in their Hopkinton home in January 2006. Prosecutors claim he was despondent over heavy debt and dissatisfied with his sex life.

Entwistle told police he returned home from running errands on Jan. 20, 2006, and found his wife and daughter dead in a bed in the master bedroom. He said he flew to his native England the following day because he wanted to be consoled by his parents.

Prosecutors rested their case Monday after playing a 45-minute recorded conversation Entwistle had with a state trooper on Jan. 26, 2006, five days after he returned to England. In the phone conversation, State Police Sgt. Robert Manning told Entwistle that the state medical examiner had ruled his wife and daughter died of gunshot wounds.

Entwistle had told the same trooper in an earlier conversation that he thought his wife and daughter had been shot, but left the house without calling for an ambulance because it was "obvious" they were dead.

"When I saw Lilly, you know, that's when I could see what happened," Entwistle said.

Entwistle asked Manning if the medical examiner was able to determine how quickly they died.

"I can't tell you that, but I can probably tell you that it was probably quick," Manning said. "I don't think they suffered much."

Entwistle choked up when he asked about his daughter.

"It was just the state of Lilly," Entwistle said. "The blood on her looked like it was more than just a shot."

Closing arguments were expected late Monday morning, followed by the judge's instruction on the law to the jury.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)