DailyKenn.com — Neil Entwistle, born in England on September 18, 1978, grows up in a working-class family. His father works as a miner and local politician, while his mother juggles home duties and a part-time job as a school cook. Neil excels academically, becoming the first in his family to pursue higher education. He dreams of moving up in society and joins the University of York, where he studies electronic engineering and business management.
In 1999, during his time at York, Neil meets Rachel, an American student on an exchange program. Rachel has a passion for sports, and the two bond over their shared love for rowing. Despite Neil’s reserved nature and Rachel’s vibrant personality, they are drawn to each other and quickly become a couple. Neil is serious about the relationship, introducing Rachel as the woman he plans to marry. Rachel, enchanted by Neil's charm and manners, feels the same way.
When Rachel returns to the U.S. to finish her studies, the distance only strengthens their relationship. She confides in her friends that Neil might be "the one." In 2001, she moves back to the UK to be with him, and they start their life together. Neil begins working in a high-ranking role connected to the British Army, while Rachel takes a job teaching English. The couple marries in August 2003 in a beautiful ceremony and dreams of starting a family.
By 2005, Rachel gives birth to their daughter, Lillian. Neil even creates a website to share family photos with their loved ones in the U.S., presenting an image of a happy, perfect family. However, Neil starts feeling insecure about his background and believes it’s holding him back professionally. He suggests they move to the U.S., and Rachel eagerly agrees, excited to reunite with her family.
In September 2005, the family moves to the U.S., staying with Rachel’s mother and stepfather. Though Rachel quickly adjusts to being back home, Neil struggles to find work and even attempts to start his own business, but it fails. They eventually move into a rented house in Boston’s suburbs, but Neil’s frustrations grow.
On January 21, 2006, when Rachel and Neil don’t show up for a planned dinner with friends, concern escalates. Rachel’s friends and family can’t reach her, and a missing persons report is filed. Police investigate and find the house locked, but nothing seems out of place. Eventually, the investigation takes a grim turn when officers discover the bodies of Rachel and Lillian hidden under a blanket in the master bedroom. Both have been shot. Neil, however, is nowhere to be found.
The police later find the family car at an airport parking lot with the keys still inside, but Neil remains missing, leaving behind a shocking mystery about the man Rachel thought she knew.
As Neil’s car sits abandoned at the airport, investigators immediately assume he has fled. It is only at this point that Rachel's parents start to realize how little they actually know about their son-in-law. Although Neil has told them he works in computers, they never really understood what he did for a living. They now find his habit of always using credit cards and never paying in cash to be suspicious. Despite Neil’s assurance that he had money, it was supposedly tied up in overseas accounts.
Unexpectedly, Rachel's parents receive a call from Neil's father. Neil had contacted him, claiming that he left the house for 20 minutes and returned to find his wife and daughter dead. He supposedly called the police and then headed to Rachel’s parents’ house but found no one there. Feeling scared and confused, he called his father from the airport, telling him he was returning to England. Neil later calls Rachel's stepfather, Joe, sharing the same story but omitting the part about contacting the police, perhaps realizing that Joe is aware no such call was made.
The police hold a press conference to inform the public of the tragic events but stress that there is no official suspect. They soon locate Neil, staying at his parents’ home, and conduct a two-hour interview. During the interview, Neil claims he left to buy computer parts and returned around 11:00 a.m. Although he initially told his father it was a quick 20-minute errand, he cannot explain the long period he was away. He describes finding Rachel and Lillian's bodies, noting details like a gunshot wound on Lillian and blood on her mouth, which the investigators on the scene hadn’t originally seen.
Neil goes on to say that he headed to the airport to fly to England, without informing anyone of the tragedy. His calm and emotionless demeanor during the interview raises suspicion.
Neil remains at his family’s home for two weeks. During this time, Rachel and Lillian’s funeral takes place, attended by over 500 people. Neil’s absence at the funeral becomes a topic of controversy.
Find archived black-on-white homicide news reports here ►
200 latest news reports from 100 top conservative websites