True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

Sandra Birchmore's Investigation and Karen Read's Had the Same Supervisor

True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

Show Notes

The prosecution's opening in the Matthew Farwell trial put one sentence in front of the jury that changes how you read everything else. Sgt. John Fanning, the supervisor over Sandra Birchmore's death investigation, allegedly told Farwell's twin brother on February 11th, 2021, that the death was a suicide, nothing was criminal, and they needed the case like they needed a bullet in the head. William Farwell told the FBI that's what he heard. Fanning's unit closed the file without a search warrant. Trooper Dunne says Fanning chose the unrecorded parking lot interview. Fanning later supervised the Norfolk CPAC unit through the Karen Read case, where jurors acquitted and a trooper was fired. Bob Motta on what a supervisor is for and what this one allegedly did with the job. Farwell is charged with killing Sandra and her unborn child. The defense says suicide. Trial continues in Boston. Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #SandraBirchmore #MatthewFarwell #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #StoughtonPolice #FarwellTrial #BobMotta #JohnFanning #KarenRead #JusticeForSandra

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Oct 23, 2026

Sandra Birchmore was a child in a police youth program when officers allegedly began targeting her. She was twelve or thirteen years old. The program had no meaningful oversight or background checks on the officers who ran it. Years later, when Sandra was found dead, local investigators treated Matthew Farwell — the man now charged with her murder — as a colleague, not a suspect. He wasn't interrogated on camera. Building surveillance allegedly placed him at her apartment during the critical window. No one sought a warrant. The case was ruled self-inflicted and closed. The FBI had to take the case because local law enforcement wouldn't investigate its own officers. Other officers — Robert Devine and William Farwell — have been named in the alleged conduct but face no federal charges. The same investigative bodies here overlap with those in the Karen Read case. The federal trial is underway, but it targets one man. The department that gave its officers unsupervised access to a child remains intact. Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #SandraBirchmore #MatthewFarwell #StoughtonPD #BlueLine #FarwellTrial #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #FBI #DOJ #KarenRead

Oct 23, 2026

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The FBI told the jury Matthew Farwell ordered Sandra Birchmore to delete their texts multiple times. On October 22, three women who had affairs with him testified he never asked them to delete anything, never wore a mask, and never hid from his own wife at a party. The defense says the mask was about hiding an affair, and every one of those affairs ended before COVID. Jason Pickard, the Army recruiter who fathered Sandra's baby, testified under immunity that she named Farwell as the father every time he asked. She also sent him the January 24, 2021 text about Farwell asking for a key and looking through her closet. On cross, the defense asked whether he'd told the FBI that Sandra talked about suicide. His answer: "It looks that way." A State Police scientist testified Farwell's DNA was on the strap and not under Sandra's nails. Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #SandraBirchmore #MatthewFarwell #TrueCrimeToday #FarwellTrial #StoughtonPolice #BirchmoreTrial #FederalMurderTrial #JusticeForSandra #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers

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