Neil Entwistle is sentenced

A British man found guilty of murdering his American wife and baby has been sentenced to life without parole. Neil Entwistle, 29, of Worksop, Notts, fled to the UK after killing his wife Rachel, 27, and Lillian Rose, nine months, at their Massachusetts home.

He showed barely any emotion as his sentence was read out in court.

Judge Diane Kottmyer said Entwistle's crimes were "incomprehensible"; Mrs Entwistle's family said they now lived with an "eternity of emptiness".

She said the murders in January 2006 were "in violation of bonds that we recognise as central to our identity as human being - those of husband and wife, and parent and child".

Entwistle had denied the charges and his lawyers said they would appeal against the convictions.

Other charges

Jurors at Middlesex County Superior Court in Woburn, Massachusetts, had deliberated for 13 hours before finding Entwistle guilty.

They rejected the defence that Mrs Entwistle had killed their baby before turning the gun on herself, and that Entwistle had covered it up to "protect her honour".

As well as being found guilty of the murders, he was convicted of two other charges - illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.

Mrs Entwistle's mother, Priscilla Matterazzo, told the court the family's hopes for their loved one had been ruined by Entwistle's actions.

"Our dreams as a parent and grandparent have been shattered by the shameful, selfish act of one person, Neil Entwistle," she said.

"For him to have tried to hide behind an act of murder, suicide, of this beautiful woman and perfect mother is low and despicable.

"Suffering does not begin to describe what we have been enduring without our beloved Rachel and Lillian, who gave our lives such purpose and meaning. I have lost two generations of my family."

Mrs Entwistle's brother Jerome Souza choked back tears as he read a statement to the court.

"Each and every day we have to live with the heartache of Neil's betrayal," he said.

"We cannot talk about what Lillian did in school, we cannot share her first word, we can't even remember watching her take her first step. We can only wonder how Lillian might have done something."

Defence 'perceptions'

Entwistle will serve two life sentences concurrently.

His lawyer, Elliot Weinstein, said any perceptions that evidence had not been provided by Entwistle's defence were unfounded.

"Every single day of the trial we produced evidence.

"It didn't persuade the jury, and perhaps that's because this jury was seated with the predisposition that we had a burden of proof, that Neil had a responsibility to satisfy their curiosity about what would he say. That's wrong."

The defence had rested its case without putting any witnesses on the stand.

The judge said she understood that some people might expect her to order consecutive sentences but she said she did not want to give "the erroneous impression that there is a possibility of release from prison on a sentence for first degree murder when there is not".