By Seamus McGraw

Rachael & Neil Entwiste

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Hopkinton, Ma. (Jan. 31, 2006) (Crime Library) — Investigators have returned empty handed to Massachusetts after reportedly being rebuffed in their efforts to interview Neil Entwistle, the young hi-tech entrepreneur who fled to England hours before the bodies of his wife and infant daughter were found, hidden under a blanket in the prim bedroom of their rented home.

Investigators from Massachusetts, who have described Entwistle as "a person of interest" in their probe of the slayings of Rachel Entwistle and the couple's infant daughter, Lillian, traveled last week to Entwistle's native Worksop in Nottingham, England. Initially, British and American media reported that Entwistle had agreed to accompany American detectives to the US Embassy in London for an interview. But the interview never took place, according to published reports.

It was not immediately clear whether Entwistle simply refused to cooperate with the probe or whether the American detectives were further stymied by a complex canon of laws that govern the way British citizens can be investigated by overseas authorities.

By law, the often-lengthy process required to force Entwistle to return to the United States can only begin if and when an arrest warrant is issued for him. So far, no such warrant has been issued, and there was little hope Tuesday that Entwistle would return voluntarily to the United States, not even for the funeral of his wife and daughter.

Entwistle's apparent lack of cooperation is not the only problem facing investigators. Police in Hopkinton have acknowledged that on two separate occasions during the weekend the bodies were discovered, the house was searched perfunctorily, once by police and later by friends and family, and in both instances, the searchers failed to notice the body of the young wife and her daughter under a blanket in the bedroom.

Authorities now believe that the mother and daughter — both shot to death apparently at close range — may have died as early as early Friday morning Jan. 20, about the time Entwistle boarded a flight for England. Friends, who had come by on Saturday for a social event, became concerned when they noticed the lights and television on inside, and called police. Police quickly searched the home and found nothing amiss, authorities have said. On Sunday, friends and family returned. They too searched the house briefly and also failed to find the Rachel and nine-month-old Lillian. That evening, after a missing persons report was filed, police returned and discovered the bodies.

The two failed searches have raised concerns among some observers that the crime scene may have been compromised, making it more difficult for prosecutors to build their case.

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