Sandra Birchmore’s Phone Examiner Found WHAT Before Giving It Back?!
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & CommentarySummary
Investigations into the Sandra Birchmore case reveal significant failures within the local police department, particularly regarding the handling of forensic evidence. State police examiner Nicholas Garino's examination of Matthew Farwell's devices yielded no communications between him and Birchmore, despite the FBI later uncovering numerous incriminating messages. This discrepancy raises questions about the integrity of the initial investigation and the potential for a cover-up within the department.
The discussion highlights a troubling culture within law enforcement, where incompetence may be mistaken for corruption. The hosts emphasize the need for accountability and proper leadership in police departments, suggesting that systemic issues often lead to inadequate investigations. They argue that without federal oversight, many local cases may remain unresolved, as local departments may lack the resources or motivation to conduct thorough inquiries.
The conversation also touches on the relationships between the individuals involved in the case, particularly the mentorship dynamics that may have contributed to a culture of exploitation. The hosts express concern over the normalization of such behavior within the Explorer program, where Birchmore and the Farwell twins were connected. The implications of these relationships raise ethical questions about the responsibilities of mentors and the impact of their actions on younger individuals.
Show Notes
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
More from Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Arne Johnson has never said the devil made him do it. Not in any interview, not in any documentary, not in any recorded statement over more than four decades. What he told police the night Alan Bono died: "I need help because I've got a drinking problem." His attorney Martin Minnella: "Arne never said 'I was possessed by the devil.' The priests said that. The Warrens said that." Judge Callahan barred the possession defense before the trial began. The jury convicted Johnson of first-degree manslaughter. The Glatzels received $4,500. The Warrens received more than $81,000. Carl Jr. found a note after their mother died — she'd been putting Sominex into the family's food. The Conjuring franchise has grossed over $2 billion. Alan Bono is a footnote in every version of this story. 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 was questioned about Sandra Birchmore in a school parking lot. State Trooper Matthew Dunne told a federal jury the conversation was neither recorded nor documented in notes. Dunne said the approach was intended to keep Farwell talking. The admission leaves a basic problem: jurors cannot hear the exchange themselves or examine a contemporaneous question-by-question account. Dunne testified that he later learned Farwell had lied about the beginning and frequency of his relationship with Birchmore. Federal prosecutors questioned Dunne about the people investigators did not interview, including Farwell's fellow Stoughton officers and Birchmore's neighbors. He said he skipped the autopsy and had not initially treated the death as suspicious. The defense emphasized his finding of no obvious struggle and has argued Birchmore died by suicide. Prosecutors allege Farwell killed Birchmore and arranged the scene to resemble a self-inflicted death. They presented video they say shows him arriving at her building in a face mask and leaving about half an hour later. Hours afterward, his wife gave birth. Those events are documented or alleged in court; what Farwell intended remains a question for jurors, not a conclusion that can be drawn from clothing alone. Tony Brueski brings criminal defense attorney Bob Motta and psychotherapist Shavaun Scott into the same conversation. Motta tests the choices Dunne made against what an investigation needs to preserve. Scott examines what prosecutors want jurors to infer from Farwell's conduct while separating behavioral possibilities from proof. When the first investigation leaves no interview recording and significant witnesses untouched, who is left to explain what the jury can trust? 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 #MatthewDunne #StoughtonPolice #BobMotta #ShavaunScott #BirchmoreCase #TrueCrimePodcast #JusticeForSandra
Matthew Farwell’s defense attorney described Sandra Birchmore’s death as an impulsive act of despair. Federal prosecutors say DNA recovered from a strap at the scene ties the former Stoughton police officer to her death. The jury now has to weigh those conflicting accounts rather than assume either opening statement proves the case. The defense detailed Sandra’s mental-health history, including treatment beginning at a young age and an earlier attempt to end her life. Attorney Kimberly Stevens also told jurors Sandra faced money problems and had $2.90 in her account near the end of January 2021. She argued investigators did not identify Farwell’s DNA beneath Sandra’s fingernails. The defense disputes the government’s interpretation of the physical evidence and the medical findings. Prosecutors allege Farwell first became involved with Sandra when she was a minor in the Stoughton Police Explorers program. Their theory is that he later killed her to prevent disclosure of his conduct. Investigators obtained a DNA sample from Farwell years after the initial investigation, and prosecutors say testing linked him to the duffel-bag strap and clothing recovered at the scene. Farwell denies the charges. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott offers an additional perspective on what years of unequal power can mean for a young person who trusts someone wearing a badge. Her analysis helps examine the relationship described by prosecutors without claiming to know Sandra’s private thoughts. Tony Brueski brings the trial evidence and that psychological perspective together as jurors confront a central dispute: who does the forensic record support? 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
Eight days after Sandra Birchmore’s death, an iPhone linked to Matthew Farwell was used to search whether consent could be revoked in Massachusetts. A second search asked whether Cellebrite could recover deleted messages. Prosecutors showed jurors the digital evidence during the former Stoughton officer’s federal murder trial. Farwell denies the charge. His attorneys maintain Sandra died by suicide after he visited her apartment. Prosecutors allege he killed her and staged the scene. The searches are evidence of questions typed into a device, and a jury must determine whether they support the prosecution’s account. This case also raises a wider question about Stoughton police. Sandra’s family’s civil allegations involve more than Matthew. His twin brother William Farwell and former deputy chief Robert Devine were both named in litigation concerning their relationships with her. Their alleged conduct is a separate matter from determining who is criminally responsible for her death. Neither faces federal murder charges in this case. Tony Brueski and defense attorney Bob Motta examine how those parallel issues intersect. They look at why federal investigators became involved years after the death, and why the original police response remains so heavily disputed. The conversation goes through what a prosecutor would need to establish before another person could face criminal exposure, rather than treating a name in a civil lawsuit as a conviction. Sandra’s phone records add another hard question. According to FBI testimony, her phone was last unlocked at 9:13 p.m. on the night prosecutors say she died. The recorded steps later that evening have become part of the contested timeline. What will the jury conclude from the phones, the officer relationships, and the investigation that came before the federal case? 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 #RobertDevine #WorkPhone #TrueCrimePodcast #BobMotta #Massachusetts
Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s reported prison words about Ken Urker have resurfaced after his death, while a separate online campaign is challenging the accepted story of Dee Dee Blanchard’s treatment of her daughter. Recordings reported to be from prison calls in 2020 and 2021 capture Gypsy discussing Ken with Ryan Anderson and saying she had told Ken she hoped he would overdose. Ken died at his Raceland, Louisiana home on October 1, 2026, his thirty-fourth birthday. According to the sheriff’s incident report, deputies found syringes, a spoon near a brown powdery substance, another syringe and a holstered handgun. Authorities said there were no signs of foul play, and an official cause of death had not been announced when the report became public. The episode also examines the growing claim that Dee Dee was wrongly portrayed as a mother who fabricated Gypsy’s illnesses. Gypsy has a documented chromosome 1q21.1 deletion, which can produce a wide range of symptoms. That diagnosis does not erase the separate medical record surrounding Dee Dee’s claims. Pediatric neurologist Dr. Bernardo Flasterstein documented a strong possibility of Munchausen by proxy after evaluating Gypsy and questioning the history he was given. Dee Dee’s own family adds another piece that is difficult to square with the online rehabilitation campaign. Her father, Claude Pitre, said in Mommy Dead and Dearest that nobody wanted Dee Dee’s cremated remains and that he told the family to flush the ashes down the toilet. Tony Brueski and Bob Motta separate the documented record from the claims now circulating around Gypsy, Dee Dee and Ken — including the facts investigators still have not resolved. 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. #GypsyRoseBlanchard #DeeDeeBlanchard #TrueCrime #KenUrker #GypsyRose #HiddenKillers #MunchausenByProxy #MedicalRecords #TrueCrimePodcast #GypsyRoseCase