Dr. Keith: Inside The Mind of Neil Entwistle
Yesterday, Neil Entwistle greeted his conviction for murdering his 27-year-old wife Rachel and their 9-month-old daughter Lillian Rose with a subtle shaking of his head, with no tears, no yelling out in disbelief, no terror, no collapse.
The man whose mask of amiability and success had dissolved on January 20, 2006 - revealing a killer capable of shooting his wife and his child pointblank with a Colt .22 - was wearing the mask again. He could have reacted the very same way to news that the dry cleaner didn’t have his shirts ready or that the Lakers had lost the NBA finals.
Entwistle has had a long experience wearing what the great psychologist Hervey Cleckley called “the mask of sanity.” He impressed teachers in his working class neighborhood in England, was one of the few to go on to college, landed a job as a computer programmer, won the love of a pretty woman, maintained friendships for decades and impressed neighbors with his intelligence and seeming success here in America.
When reality didn’t sustain his desire to be seen as smart and affluent, he tried to reinforce the mask with a kind of psychological Crazy Glue. He lied about making a small fortune in Internet businesses that were really shams offering others the false promise of easy money and better sex (two things, it turns out, he dreamed about having himself). He lied to friends, even after the murders, about owning the home he rented in Hopkinton, Mass. He pretended to be happily married and satisfied with his family life when he was really addicted to porn and on the prowl for sex with strangers through AdultFriendFinder.com.
But like every web of lies, Entwistle’s could not be sustained. The truth always wins. His real limitations—interpersonally or emotionally or creatively or intellectually—translated into being unemployed, his shady businesses unsuccessful, and his financial situation perilous to the point of bankruptcy. People weren’t “buying” Neil Entwistle. He was about to be revealed as a failure. Perhaps his wife had already learned that he was a fraud. And that much reality he could not bear. That made him want to clear the stage of the actors he had cast in leading roles in his fake life, to hit the “reset” button on the psychological cat-and-mouse game he was playing.
Because the subsoil of Entwistle’s psyche is likely nothing more than chaos, a black hole of self-hatred and seemingly unanswerable questions (though they always are, with the right help) about whether he has any worth at all and any level of manhood to speak of, never mind the raw, sexual kind that he kept watching graphically play itself out on the Internet.
Men like Entwistle — the Scott Petersons of this world — feel like stripping their masks away is tantamount to killing them, because they believe those thin, synthetic disguises are all that keep them from dissolving into nothingness and feeling the full weight of unspeakable emotional turmoil, with roots that always reach deep into their pasts.
Neil Entwistle will be jailed for life. But, as he showed yesterday in a Massachusetts courtroom where genuine sorrow and love resided in the hearts of Rachel Entwistle’s family, he won’t even be present in the cell. His real self is but a distant echo in his mind and soul, very nearly as lifeless as his victims.
Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatry correspondent for FOX News Channel and a New York Times bestselling author. His newest book, “Living the Truth: Transform Your Life through the Power of Insight and Honesty” has launched a new self-help movement. Check out Dr. Ablow’s website at livingthetruth.com.
Tags: Colt .22, courtroom, Dr. Keith Ablow, England, guilty, Hervey Cleckley, Lillian Rose, Massachusetts, Neil Entwistle, Rachel Entwistle, Scott Peterson
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Sounds like a personality disorder to me. If that’s the case, then I agree with your assessment, except that he could get his questions answered.
Dang, that was deep stuff Doc!!
dr. ablow writes sensational pop psychiatry babble -all from a distance.
not very insightful
jfs md
neurologist
I can agree with Dr. Keith with the comparison to Scott Peterson. When I saw Entwistle on TV, that was the first thing that came to mind - the slick, self-assured attitude and the lack of reaction to what was actually happening. It is unfortunate that such things happen and that his wife and baby daughter had to pay the ultimate price for his narcissistic personality.
From the comments by his mother, one can see that he never had to deal with reality. Similar to Scott Peterson as well. Both had mothers who thought their little boys were perfect and never questioned or helped them to experience consequences.
There are only so many given ways a person could react to hearing a verdict of guilty being delivered about themselves, but Dr. Keith seems to think a shaking of the head is sufficiently revealing to make an entire diagnosis. No scientist would imagine that they could get inside someone’s mind from such a distance.
>The truth always wins.
In that case, I await a moment of reckoning for Dr. Keith and FOXnews.
He’s a Malignant Narcissist. It is rampant but difficult to pinpoint. They are masters of disguise.
Pure Evil.
My, what a detailed analysis by someone who never even met the man. Got it all figured out, do you?
Someone who maintains friendships for decades is hardly a complete fraud. No one maintains friendships for more than a few decades. I wonder how many people even keep many friends over the years, as people move, lose touch with each other, and drift apart. Keeping friendships for decades takes effort, and I cannot believe it was *all* a tissue of lies.
Oh, I believe there were lies, if the man is guilty of the crimes. Something was wrong. But to dismiss him altogether as a fraud is unwarranted. There is no evidence to support the claim. Just speculation by someone who should know better. No competent psychologist would make such sweeping statements about anyone s/he hadn’t met. In fact, it would be unwise to make them even after years of in-depth interviews and therapy.
But it makes good press.
That Boy is going away for a loooooooooooooong time! He was complaining and upset about his sex life before, wait till he gets put in General Population this weekend. Hes gonna have quite an active sex life now behind bars with men nevertheless. Hell be meeting his Cellmate this weekend and the first thing Bubbas gonna ask. “Hey Boy you wanna be the husband or the wife?” lol
Poor Enwistle
You put into beautifully written words the very thoughts we all had about Neil Entwistle but couldn’t express. Very sad story and waste of two precious lives.
Thank you, Dr. Keith, for helping us understand what makes these men do such monstrous acts. Despite the negative comments others have left here, there is a common thread among these men who wear “the mask of sanity” as evidenced in each and every case presented at trial.
This is a stirring interpretation of Mr. Entwhistle’s psyche, and I commend Dr. Keith for it.
It is not at all impossible to make inferences about a man’s character from a distance given the level of detail known about Entwhistle’s behavior. Whether he is described as a malignant narcissist or a psychopath, the shoe seems to fit.
Dr. Keith, although everything you said about Entwistle is undoubtedly true, what I saw in that man’s eyes was pure evil. I’m referring to the news coverage of him and his attorney sitting in Court while they were showing pictures of his dead baby. Entwistle started laughing uncontrolabley and was covering his face trying to hide it. But when he looked into the camera while he was laughing, his eyes told the whole story. I could hardly look at him there was so much evil spewing from that man’s face. May he rot in hell where he belongs.
I am interested to know how much Neil’s mother or father influenced his psyche, particularly his mother after her comments about Rachel yesterday.
My first thought about her after she demonized the victim was that no woman would ever be ‘good’ enough for her little boy.
All we can hope for is that he will be taken care of in prison, you know, like Jeff Dahlmer.
The only way that Entwistle could have looked at his sweet wife and his beautiful baby and shot them is because his parents raised a monster and they therefore are to blame even more so.
Dr. Ablow knows a killer when he sees one. There is no mistaking his analysis of this wretched human being who was able to kill his wife and his own child and then run away to England before being caught, brought back here to stand trial, wearing a grotesque half-smile throughout the proceedings.
His punishment - life in prison - is far too good for him considering the crimes he committed.
He is a man who not only acted in a guilty way but looked guilty and never uttered a word in his own defense for fear of toying with his defense.
Dr. Ablow or any psychiatrist in control of their faculties and understanding in the nuts and bolts of their profession should be able to determine who is guilty and who is innocent by how they appear and how they act and by their expression or the lack of it. The jury does the rest, thankfully, since science and the study of medicine is imperfect and incomplete when compared with the finding of a jury of Neal Entwistles peers.
There is nothing superficial or silly about Dr. ABlow’s renderings in this instance about a first degree murderer. What is superficial and silly are some of the comments of those who would doubt the good doctor’s instincts, which, frankly, are right on the mark.
Wow, I’ve never heard an analysis explained so dramatically and powerfully– much more emotionally understandable and interesting than a clinical textbook description! Thanks, Dr. Ablow!
I really enjoyed this article…I thought it was ’spot’ on….very scary
What a horrible story.
There is no excuse for murder. But one wonders what contribution, if any, moving to a strange country can make? Having moved to North America for several years in my early 20s I must say that there is a phase within the first 2 years where one feels completely isolated from these “strange people” whose habits, manner of speech and culture is so alien to what one is used to.
One experiences a scary culture shock - cars become autos, lifts elevators, puntures flats, pudding dessert and so on and on….The anchors of your life suddenly start dragging a little.
Your clothes are often seen as “out of place”, cricket scores are hard to get and the beer is awful!
A thousand small things that all add up - each new one yet another affront on your own culture.
“Hey, you speak funny,” they say.
The emotion can vary from quite weak to vary strong. There are times when one would just love to hear and “English” voice again. (Thank god for the beeb world service and short wave radio)
On the other hand the Amercian “twang” can become extremely irritating - particularly the female, “Oh my gaaaaard”.
For a while, it’s “them” and me. Even close friends.
Of course in my case it all eventually blurred into everyday life and all faded away and I metamorphasised into an American - only to have to reverse the process several years later!!
But for someone living on the edge - it might be one of the contributing factors that could push him over.
You know, a mind is made up like a bird’s nest - a bit of this a bit of that…
Just wondering…..
You presume to analyze the mind of someone you’ve never met?
C’mon, Keith! You know that’s not professional!
I’ve seen people who went through traumatic things before, and after a long time, they DO develop a different look in their eyes. For some it is that, “thousand yard stare”. His eyes were different. If you look at his eyes, they have an evil glint about them that does not come from being traumatized. My experience has shown that it comes from being psychotic and evil.
His dad has that same look. His mom looks like some sort of special needs person who is being controlled or emotionally/mentally abused. That’s just speculation, of course, but that’s the gut impression I got from the whole thing.
Wow, this article is crap and so are some of these comments…
There is no excuse for murder, PERIOD. The only “MASK” I see is the “insanity” excuse that is constantly being used for horrible people committing murders. Just like moms killing their own kids because they are depressed… People need to quit looking for an easy way out and find other ways to cope with life’s problems!! You can’t justify murder.
And there is no “Poor Enwistle”……..Poor WIFE AND BABY!!!
Ignorance doesn’t excuse you.
Dr. Keith was completely accurate in his description of Neil Entwistle. I watched the entire trial and I feel that I also have come to know what a monster and mentally ill person Entwistle is. Dr. Keith is educated in the human phsyche and therefore has every right to give his professional opinion. For those of you who didn’t watch the trial or keep up on it, you have no right to complain about Dr. Keith’s comments. I felt sorry for Neil at first, but as more evidence came out, that feeling quickly disappeared!!!
I don’t understand the anger against Keith Ablow. If there’s anyone people should be angry at is that poor excuse for a human being, Neil Entwistle, who was able to shoot his baby daughter in the chest and leave her to die in pain.
Doctor, if you want to say something intelligent, tell us exactly what Mr. Entwistle’s deviation is and how it is corrected.
The guy is a killer,no question and the good doctor has it right.Neil is a monster hiding behind a mask with illusions of greatness.Why did he have to kill a child ?He will see hell many times behind bars and will pray for death, and hopefully meet Jeffery Dahamers fate.