CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-
Lawyers for a British man accused of killing his wife and infant daughter asked a judge Thursday to dismiss the charges, saying prosecutors have used unreliable DNA evidence to link him to the slayings.
Neil Entwistle’s lawyers argued prosecutors have said publicly and in court documents that they have matched Entwistle’s DNA to the .22-caliber handgun believed to have been used in the Jan. 20 shooting deaths.
But authorities never used a direct DNA sample from Entwistle, said defense attorney Elliot Weinstein. The prosecution’s own chemist acknowledged in an affidavit that taking a direct DNA sample from someone is the only reliable way to get a match, he said.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Fabbri said the state crime lab initially matched Entwistle’s DNA to the gun by extrapolating his DNA from a sample taken from the infant. They then obtained DNA from a water bottle Neil Entwistle had in his BMW.
Fabbri said the first DNA match is reliable, but prosecutors want the judge to allow them to take a direct DNA sample from Entwistle, 28, to present to a jury during trial. “The evidence the Commonwealth has submitted has been fair and reasonable,” Fabbri said.
Weinstein said that because the DNA match is unreliable and prosecutors told the news media they had linked Entwistle to the shootings using it, they have tainted the jury pool and violated Entwistle’s right to a fair trial.
“They are using the language of ‘match,’ and that’s wrong,” he said.
Judge Peter Lauriat did not indicate when he would rule.
Rachel Entwistle, 27, and 9-month-old daughter Lillian were found fatally shot together in a bed at their rented home in Hopkinton. Investigators said that Neil Entwistle flew to his parents’ home in England shortly after the slayings.
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