Perfect storm of trials hits Woburn court
Boston Herald, Monday, June 2, 2008  
By Joe Dwinel http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1097998&format=text

Three husbands who prosecutors say murdered over money, sexual frustration and revenge all go on trial just days apart beginning today in Middlesex Superior Court.

Court workers in Woburn say they’ve never seen such sensational cases hit the docket simultaneously.

“The craziness has started,” said one clerk as he peered out the window at television satellite trucks already setting to cover the cases.
“I’ve been ready for this day my entire life,” added a court officer bracing to weather the legal storm.

The cases are a who’s who of alleged assassins, all facing life without parole: Neil Entwistle, 29, is accused of murdering his wife, Rachel, 27, and 9-month-old baby, Lillian Rose, in their Hopkinton home on Jan. 20, 2006. Jury selection begins today for the British dad who is accused of seeking sex from hookers before and after he murdered his wife and child.

James Brescia, 48, of Waltham goes on trial tomorrow charged with hiring a hit man for $10,000 to murder his estranged wife’s 39-year-old Framingham lover in a Newton parking garage on Jan. 13, 2006.

James Keown, 33, goes on trial next Monday for allegedly poisoning his 31-year-old wife to death in September 2004 by lacing her Gatorade and food with anti-freeze. Prosecutors say the Newton man wanted to cash in her life insurance.

These cases will test the new court located in an office park off Route 128.

“Our prosecutors and trial teams will not be distracted by external factors - our focus is on the victims, their families and serving them by presenting our best case on their behalf,” Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said.

Defense attorney J.W. Carney Jr., representing Brescia, said he’s banking on court officers to maintain order.

“The court has the benefit of an extraordinary contingent of court officers,” Carney told the Herald in the halls of the court, “who will guarantee every trial will be handled fairly.”

The court, relocated to Woburn in March while the old Cambridge courthouse undergoes renovations and asbestos removal, only has room for about 170 jurors a day. Judge Diane Kottmyer, the presiding jurist in the Entwistle case, warned jurors should expect “hardship” with her case because it is expected to last most of the month - as are the other two.