Lawyers drop subpoena request for reporters

Two reporters avoided a potential courtroom showdown after attorneys for accused murderer John Entwistle dropped their efforts to identify the anonymous sources who provided the reporters a letter written by Entwistle to his attorneys.

Michele McPhee and Laurel Sweet co-wrote an article that included information from the letter in a story printed in the Boston Herald last November. Earlier this week, Entwistle’s attorneys subpoenaed the two reporters to determine who provided them a copy of the letter. They abandoned those efforts on Wednesday, saying that the information was no longer needed.

Entwistle’s attorneys dropped their request after the prosecution informed the court that they had no intentions of introducing the letter as evidence against Entwistle, who stands accused of killing his wife and newborn daughter.