WOBURN, Mass. -- A British man convicted of shooting his wife and baby daughter to death as they snuggled in bed two years ago was sentenced to two mandatory life sentences in prison Thursday morning as the family of his victims talked of how they would now have to live forever with shattered dreams.

Family Reacts As Entwistle Sentenced

Neil Entwistle, 29, was found guilty of shooting his wife Rachel, 27, and 9-month-old baby daughter Lillian Rose, in January 2006 in their Hopkinton home.

A Middlesex County Superior court jury believed the state's contention that an unemployed Entwistle, distraught over his failing financial situation and disatisfied with his sex life, took his father-in-law's .22-caliber gun and shot his wife and daughter, then fled to England.

He showed no emotion as the family of his victims offered victim impact statements.

"Our dreams as a parent and grandparent have been shattered by the shameful, selfish act of one person," Rachel Entwistle's mother, Priscilla Matterazzo, said, describing Neil Entwistle as a man who had the luxury of a jury trial while she and her family will now have to suffer for a lifetime.

"For him to have tried to hide behind an accusation of murder-suicide of this beautiful woman and perfect mother is low and despicable," she told the court as part of her statement.

"Suffering does not begin to describe what we have been enduring without our beloved Rachel and Lillian who gave our lives such purpose and meaning. I have lost two generations of my family," she said, asking that Entwistle be sentenced to two consecutive -- rather than concurrent -- life sentences, to be served in the United States.

"Neil, you have been judged today by a jury of your peers on Earth, but one day you will face the ultimate judgement of your horrific deeds and betrayals," Rachel's stepfather Joseph Matterazzo said.

Rachel Entwistle's brother, Jerome Souza, also offered a victim impact statement, recalling how as a big brother he had looked out for his little sister. He said they had grown up in a big family that became larger after their father's death and they were all mourning Rachel.

"Each and every day we have to live with the heartache and betrayal that Neil's brought to our family," he said. "We can tell Lily's cousins what happened to her, but we cannot tell them why."

Neil Entwistle did not offer an apology to his wife's family during the sentencing and his parents continued to insist he did not commit the murders.

"There is no way our innocent son Neil is guilty," Clifford Entwistle said before entering court.

The judge in the case agreed that the murders were difficult for anyone to understand or accept.

"These crimes are incomprehensible. They defy comprehension because they involve the planned and deliberate murders of the defendant's wife and 9-month-old child in violation of bonds that we recognize as central to our identity of human beings -- those of husband and wife and parent and child," Middlesex Superior Court Judge Diane Kottmyer said before sentencing Entwistle.

"What is all too clear and easily comprehended is the magnitude of the loss and the pain suffered by Rachel and Lillian Entwistle's extended family and friends," she said.

Kottmyer said she understood Priscilla Matterazzo's request that Neil Entwistle be given two consecutive life sentences because, symbolically, that would recognize there was more than one victim. The sentence for first-degree murder, however, is mandated by law in Massachusetts, she said, with no possibility of parole.

"I'm concerned that if consecutive sentences are imposed, people who are not familiar with Massachusetts law will have the erroneous impression that there is a possibility of release from prison on a sentence of first-degree murder when there is not," she said. "Absent a pardon from the governor, there is no possibility of release from prison."

For that reason, Kottmyer said, she would impose the concurrent sentences but added a condition to the sentence that will prohibit Neil Entwistle from making any profit from the sale of his story as a book or any other way.

He was sentenced to serve his term at Cedar Junction prison. It will automatically be appealed to the state's Supreme Judicial Court. His attorney indicated an appeal would be based on a denied request for a change of venue for the trial and police procedures in entering the crime scene before an official investigation had begun.

Entwistle's attorney, Elliot Weinstein, talked of his client's reaction after the sentencing.

"The reaction has to be obvious to anybody. It's a horrible thing. It's nothing to look forward to. It's a reality that he has to live with until we're successful on his appeal," Weinstein said, indicating that the appeal process could take several years.