The Devil Made Him Do It? The Arne Johnson Story — Mom's Secret Note Changed EVERYTHING

Federal prosecutors say Matthew Farwell’s DNA was found on a duffel bag strap recovered around Sandra Birchmore’s neck. The defense disputes the government’s account of her death. Tony Brueski and former prosecutor Eric Faddis unpack the central evidence in Farwell’s federal trial and a second fight over police accountability in Stoughton. The government says security footage showed Farwell entering Sandra’s apartment building while wearing a mask on February 1, 2021. Prosecutors also described messages missing from his phone when Massachusetts State Police examined it, as well as Sandra’s plans to welcome a child and apply to a nursing program. Those details support the prosecution’s allegation that Farwell killed her and staged the death. His attorneys say he went to end the relationship and that Sandra acted on her own. Farwell has pleaded not guilty. Another dispute centers on Police Chief Donna McNamara. She says Town Manager Thomas Calter ordered her to destroy findings from a second internal investigation. Calter denies the accusation. Reports indicate the 2024 inquiry concerned the handling of a phone call from Sandra’s friend warning the department about Farwell. What the report actually found remains undisclosed. Faddis weighs which prosecution exhibits jurors can evaluate directly, how defense counsel might challenge the meaning of a DNA match, and why a dispute over an internal police report cannot be treated as proof of the underlying murder allegation. The episode connects a contested physical-evidence case with questions about who inside the Stoughton department knew what and when. 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 #EricFaddis #FarwellTrial #StoughtonPolice #DonnaMcNamara #TrueCrime #JusticeForSandra #TrueCrimePodcast

Sandra Birchmore's investigators chose an interview that left no recording and no notes. Trooper Matthew Dunne told a federal jury his supervisor, Sgt. John Fanning, made the tactical call to question Matthew Farwell in a school parking lot so the officer would keep talking. Days later, the investigation still had no recorded version of what Farwell said in that conversation. Federal prosecutors pressed Dunne about the consequences. He testified that he subsequently learned Farwell had misrepresented when his relationship with Birchmore began and how often they met. He acknowledged not speaking with Farwell's Stoughton police colleagues. Prosecutors also highlighted the surveillance footage placing Farwell at her building. The defense maintains Birchmore died by suicide, while prosecutors allege Farwell killed her and staged the death. Farwell has pleaded not guilty. Bob Motta examines the difference between an interview that helps police establish facts and one that protects a possible suspect from uncomfortable questions. An unrecorded conversation can become a dispute about what was said. A supervisor who approves the plan shares responsibility for explaining why that risk was taken. Eric Faddis also looks at evidence that received very different treatment after federal investigators became involved. Nicholas Guarino testified that his search of Farwell's phone revealed no messages with Birchmore and that the phone was returned. FBI examiners later recovered thousands of communications from Birchmore's own devices. Testimony about police leaders learning of the lobby video also raises a question of information flow inside the department. The point of the investigation was to determine how Sandra died. The jury must evaluate the evidence, while the public can ask why so many investigative choices now need explaining. 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 #JohnFanning #StoughtonPolice #BobMotta #EricFaddis #TrueCrimePodcast #PoliceAccountability #FederalTrial

Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails are back at the center of Alex Murdaugh's murder case. At the October 16 hearing, defense lawyers said additional testing found unidentified male DNA beneath both hands, and they argued that a sample from Maggie's phone also included genetic material not attributable to Alex. The defense wants to learn who may have contributed it. Prosecutors warn that further testing could consume the little evidence that remains. Judge Debra McCaslin allowed the defense to pursue independent Y-STR testing on remaining samples. That technique concentrates on the Y chromosome, giving analysts a way to examine male DNA mixed with a larger amount of female DNA. A match has not been announced. Defense lawyers themselves acknowledged that the samples might ultimately prove irrelevant. Their point is that the question deserves testing before a jury hears the case again. The hearing also brought a public correction of defense attorney Dick Harpootlian. He previously described Alex as passing a polygraph with flying colors. The court clarified that the test related to his financial conduct, that he failed it, and that it was never a test about the killings. Lawyers also argued over material produced shortly before the original trial, including a 73-gigabyte delivery. McCaslin turned down a broad request to examine cartridge cases from unrelated shootings. Tony Brueski and Robin Dreeke examine why every word matters when lawyers describe forensic findings, how unexplained male DNA should be evaluated, and whether the court can keep the debate focused on what the evidence actually shows. The new murder trial is scheduled for April 5, 2027, in Sumter County. Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty. 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. #AlexMurdaugh #MaggieMurdaugh #HiddenKillers #MurdaughTrial #YSTRTesting #DNAEvidence #DickHarpootlian #SLED #SouthCarolina #TrueCrimePodcast

A January 2021 complaint about Matthew Farwell reached Stoughton police. According to federal prosecutors, an employee then alerted Farwell himself. The indictment leaves that employee unnamed. Sandra Birchmore’s friend had tried to tell the department about the relationship, and the prosecution argues the disclosure changed what Farwell knew was at risk. Twelve days later, prosecutors allege, Farwell killed Sandra and arranged the scene to resemble a death by suicide. He has pleaded not guilty. His defense disputes the government’s account of how she died. Bob Motta looks at what investigators can establish about a departmental tip without assigning blame to a person the indictment never identifies. There were other officers linked to Sandra through Stoughton’s youth program. A 2022 internal investigation found serious misconduct involving Matthew, his twin William Farwell, and former deputy chief Robert Devine. William’s police certification was permanently revoked in September 2024 under a voluntary agreement. A civil or administrative finding, however, is different from proving participation in Matthew’s alleged crime. Chief Donna McNamara also claims Town Manager Thomas Calter ordered her to destroy a report connected to a second internal investigation. Calter has denied mistreating her and disputes her allegations. The pair were placed on administrative leave in August 2026 while separate inquiries proceeded. Tony Brueski joins Bob Motta and psychotherapist Shavaun Scott to examine the reported call, the findings about other officers, and the chief’s allegations about a second report. The unresolved issue is who controlled the information once Sandra’s friend called the police station. 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

Nicholas Guarino found a password containing Matthew Farwell’s name on Sandra Birchmore’s phone. He used it to access her MacBook. Then he searched Farwell’s iPhone for messages with Sandra, found none, and returned the phone to its owner, according to his federal trial testimony. That phone search was performed on February 9, 2021. Guarino testified that investigators directed him to look for communications between Farwell and Birchmore. Federal examiners subsequently recovered tens of thousands of messages from Sandra’s devices, and prosecutors argue that Farwell had deleted messages following his earlier State Police interview. Tony Brueski and criminal defense attorney Bob Motta examine the consequence of that early decision: the State Police no longer have the iPhone that was returned. They look at the difference between an empty search result and proof that two people never communicated. They also examine Guarino’s testimony about an unpreserved partial MacBook extraction, an unsuccessful Apple Watch extraction, and information lost after a hard-drive failure. The second thread concerns the people who had power over Sandra long before her death. Former Stoughton deputy chief Robert Devine led a youth-police program connected to the case. During his disciplinary proceedings, his lawyer argued Sandra had lied; Devine denies the misconduct allegations. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott discusses the effect on a young person when trusted authority figures allegedly cross boundaries, and when their credibility is challenged years later. Farwell is accused in federal court of killing Sandra and her unborn child. He has pleaded not guilty, and his defense maintains she took her own life. 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 #NicholasGuarino #RobertDevine #StoughtonPolice #ForensicEvidence #BobMotta #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimePodcast