Birchmore Investigators Returned Farwell’s Phone After WHAT?!

Sandra Birchmore’s friend called the Stoughton Police Department to report a relationship involving officer Matthew Farwell. The federal indictment alleges someone working at the department told Farwell about the call. The government has not identified that employee in the indictment, leaving an important gap in the story of how the warning was handled. Prosecutors allege Matthew later killed Sandra and made the scene look like a suicide. He has pleaded not guilty and his defense says Sandra took her own life. Bob Motta examines how investigators should preserve complaints, identify who handled them, and separate an internal policy failure from evidence that a particular person committed a crime. A department investigation completed in 2022 identified serious misconduct by three former Stoughton officers: Matthew Farwell, his twin brother William Farwell, and former deputy chief Robert Devine. William was permanently decertified in September 2024. The state disciplinary record identifies false information to investigators and other alleged misconduct, but does not establish that William was the source of the warning to Matthew. The conflict extends to Stoughton’s leadership. Police Chief Donna McNamara alleges Town Manager Thomas Calter demanded that she destroy a report produced in connection with a second internal investigation of the Birchmore matter. Calter denies her allegations. Both officials were placed on administrative leave as the town launched separate investigations. Tony Brueski and Bob Motta unpack the legal significance of the call and the department’s documented findings. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott considers the pressure on people who report wrongdoing when their institution is accused of failing to protect them. The central question is what the available records can actually prove about the warning and its aftermath. 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 #StoughtonPolice #WilliamFarwell #DonnaMcNamara #BobMotta #ShavaunScott #TrueCrime #JusticeForSandra

Forty years of movies, books, and mythology say the devil made Arne Johnson do it. Arne Johnson has never said that. Not once. What he told police the night Alan Bono died: "I need help because I've got a drinking problem." His attorney: "The priests said that. The Warrens said that." Judge Callahan barred the possession defense before a single juror sat down. The jury convicted Johnson of manslaughter, not murder. The Glatzel family received $4,500 from the deals. The Warrens received more than $81,000. Lorraine told 11-year-old David he'd be a rich little boy. Carl Jr. discovered their mother had been putting Sominex into the family's food — a secret she took to the grave. The Conjuring franchise has grossed over $2 billion. Alan Bono is a footnote in every version. 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. #DevilMadeHimDoIt #ArneJohnson #TheConjuring #DemonicPossession #JudgeCallahan #EdAndLorraineWarren #BrookfieldCT #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #DevilOnTrial

Matthew Farwell appears on surveillance video entering Sandra Birchmore's apartment building in a face mask. Prosecutors say he left roughly half an hour later, and his wife gave birth hours afterward. The government has made that sequence part of its case alleging he killed Birchmore and staged the scene. Farwell has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers maintain that Birchmore died by suicide. The mask drew particular attention when a Stoughton police colleague testified that Farwell disliked wearing them. Whether that detail indicates concealment is a prosecution inference, not an established finding. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott discusses what unusual behavior can suggest, and why psychological interpretation cannot replace hard evidence. Then there is the original state investigation. Trooper Matthew Dunne acknowledged questioning Farwell in a school parking lot with no recording and no notes. Dunne described this as a deliberate way to keep Farwell talking. He later testified that Farwell's explanation of their relationship contained lies. Prosecutors also questioned his decision not to interview neighbors or Farwell's fellow officers and his failure to attend the autopsy. Dunne said he did not initially consider the death suspicious because he saw no signs of struggle. Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta looks at what those gaps mean in court. A jury now must weigh the prosecution's alleged timeline, the defense's alternative explanation and investigative choices that cannot be undone years later. The early decision to close Sandra's death as a suicide still shadows the federal case. What happens when the first account investigators accepted becomes the very conclusion jurors are being asked to reconsider? 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 #ShavaunScott #BobMotta #MatthewDunne #StoughtonPolice #TrueCrimePodcast #JusticeForSandra

Sandra Birchmore’s death was initially ruled self-inflicted, but federal prosecutors allege former Stoughton officer Matthew Farwell killed her and made the scene appear otherwise. His attorney says Sandra died in an impulsive act of despair. The argument reaches beyond a medical conclusion into DNA evidence and the history of Sandra’s relationship with Farwell. Defense attorney Kimberly Stevens told jurors Sandra began psychiatric medication at age six, had attempted to end her life as a teenager, and faced financial pressure. Stevens said Sandra had $2.90 in her account at the end of January 2021. The defense emphasizes that investigators did not find Farwell’s DNA beneath her fingernails and disputes the change in how her death was evaluated. The prosecution says DNA linked to Farwell was recovered from a duffel-bag strap and Sandra’s clothing. Prosecutors also allege he used his position in the Stoughton Police Explorers program to begin a relationship with Sandra while she was underage. They argue his motive involved preventing disclosure of that history. Farwell has pleaded not guilty, and the competing claims remain for the jury to assess. There is a second dimension to this story. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott explores how trust in an older authority figure can shape a young person’s view of a relationship. Her professional interpretation is distinct from evidence of Sandra’s personal thoughts. Tony Brueski connects those questions to the courtroom fight, including the fact that DNA testing later ruled Farwell out as the biological father of Sandra’s unborn child. The case turns on what the evidence can establish, not simply which explanation sounds possible. 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 #FarwellTrial #StoughtonPolice #ShavaunScott #TrueCrime #BirchmoreCase #FederalTrial #TrueCrimePodcast

The federal trial of former Stoughton officer Matthew Farwell has put two searches from February 9, 2021, before a jury. An iPhone linked to him asked whether consent can be revoked under Massachusetts law and whether deleted messages can be retrieved using Cellebrite. Sandra Birchmore had died eight days earlier. Prosecutors allege Farwell killed Sandra to keep her from revealing their relationship, then staged the scene. Farwell has denied the federal murder charge. His lawyers contend she died by suicide. These competing accounts are central to the trial; the significance of the digital evidence remains for jurors to decide. Yet the case extends beyond one defendant. Sandra’s family has pursued civil claims involving Matthew’s twin brother William Farwell and former Stoughton deputy chief Robert Devine. Allegations in that lawsuit concern their conduct toward Sandra and the department’s handling of the situation. Those allegations are not convictions, and they do not mean either man has been charged with her death. Tony Brueski and defense lawyer Bob Motta examine why the police department’s actions have become a major part of the story. An FBI investigation opened in October 2023, more than two years after Sandra’s death, and later developed into the federal criminal case. That gap forces a careful look at what local investigators collected, what questions were pursued, and which decisions federal prosecutors now challenge. An FBI examiner also testified that Sandra’s phone was last unlocked at 9:13 p.m. on February 1, 2021. Motion readings appeared later in the evening, while building video placed Farwell at her apartment complex. The combined record is more than one dramatic search query. It is a timeline the government and defense are asking the same jury to interpret in different ways. 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 #WorkPhone #StoughtonPolice #FederalCourt #TrueCrimeNews #DigitalEvidence #HiddenKillers