Show Notes
Sandra Birchmore’s federal murder case now places two disputed questions directly in front of a jury: what Matthew Farwell believed about her pregnancy, and whether her death was suicide or strangulation. Neither question is as simple as the early public narrative made it sound. DNA testing excludes Farwell as the biological father of Birchmore’s unborn son. Prosecutors nevertheless allege Birchmore told Farwell the baby was his and say messages from the period show he believed that. Their theory is that the perceived pregnancy consequences — paternity, support and exposure of the relationship — supplied motive even if the biological assumption was wrong. Farwell has pleaded not guilty. The defense points to the official death record. Massachusetts’ medical examiner originally ruled Birchmore’s death a suicide caused by hanging. In 2026, the office removed both conclusions, changing the cause to “asphyxia” and the manner to “undetermined.” Defense expert Dr. Thomas Andrew says he cannot rule out suicidal hanging. Prosecutors have experts who say the injuries are more consistent with strangulation. Judge Denise Casper has ruled that jurors may hear selected writings and communications from Birchmore, including journal material. She has also allowed evidence about Birchmore’s mental-health history and prior suicidal thoughts because the defense says her state of mind supports its suicide theory. Eric Faddis joins Tony Brueski to examine where the government’s motive theory is strongest, where the defense has real room to create doubt, and why the same pieces of evidence may land very differently once twelve jurors hear them in the same courtroom. 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 #Birchmore #FederalTrial #DNAEvidence #MedicalExaminer #StoughtonPolice #CantonMassachusetts #EricFaddis #TrueCrime
More from The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore
What these officers did to Sandra Birchmore’s mind — and why the coverup is allegedly still happening — is the focus of a comprehensive four-part interview with psychotherapist Shavaun Scott. Scott, author of Nightbird, examines the case from every angle: how officers allegedly used a youth program and Sandra’s childhood losses to replace every source of trust in her life, how Matthew Farwell allegedly maintained a double life until the night Sandra died, how Robert Devine’s mentorship of the Farwell brothers may have created a pipeline, and how the department is allegedly retaliating against the chief who tried to expose it. The interview covers details the legal case alone cannot illuminate — what the unsent text reveals, what the mask tells a clinician, what Devine’s attack on Sandra’s credibility after her death says about the group, and what McNamara’s removal means for the women in law enforcement watching this unfold. 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 #StoughtonPolice #HiddenKillers #MatthewFarwell #RobertDevine #DonnaMcNamara #ShavaunScott #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #JusticeForSandra
The chief who exposed the officers connected to Sandra Birchmore says she was told to destroy the evidence of a second investigation — and when she refused, she was the one placed on leave. Chief Donna McNamara was the first female officer and first female chief in Stoughton’s history. She allegedly opened a second probe into the department after the officers were identified. Town Manager Robin Calter allegedly demanded the report be destroyed. Someone inside the department had already tipped Matthew Farwell that he was being discussed. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott, author of Nightbird, examines what this pattern of retaliation reveals about the institution Sandra was allegedly harmed inside. The second investigation reportedly identified another unnamed former employee. Scott asks what it means for the women serving in law enforcement right now who are watching one of their own get punished for doing what was right. 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 #DonnaMcNamara #HiddenKillers #StoughtonPolice #PoliceCoverup #ShavaunScott #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #RobinCalter #JusticeForSandra
What William Farwell did while Sandra Birchmore was pregnant with his twin brother’s baby is one of the details that tells psychotherapist Shavaun Scott how this group of officers allegedly functioned. William allegedly participated even knowing Sandra was carrying Matthew’s child. Robert Devine, who ran the youth program that first gave officers access to Sandra, mentored both brothers as teenagers. After Sandra was dead, Devine sat at his own hearing and called her a liar. Scott, author of Nightbird, examines the psychology of men who allegedly operate in groups — how one officer’s behavior can create a model that others follow, and why attacking the credibility of a dead woman was Devine’s first instinct when his own conduct was under review. Three officers connected through one program, involved with one girl for years. Scott explains what that structure does to the person trapped inside it. 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 #RobertDevine #HiddenKillers #WilliamFarwell #ShavaunScott #StoughtonPolice #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #ExplorersProgram #JusticeForSandra
Sandra Birchmore was already dead when Matthew Farwell texted his desk mate from his wife's hospital room, asking if anything was going on and saying he was bored. Detective Daniel Barber testified that in eight years, Farwell had never once reached out off duty like that. Rebecca Chandler read Sandra's texts to the jury. She read the night Sandra wrote that Farwell looked around her closet, and the morning Sandra wrote that he asked for a key and said he'd always be around if she stayed quiet. The last thing Chandler ever got from Sandra was baby clothes, sent January 31. Detective Barrett knew Farwell's walk and his jeans on the lobby video. Donyea Holloway testified Sandra wanted the baby to have police benefits in case the father wasn't around. Karlie Williams was going to dig her car out for Thursday, February 4. That's the day Sandra was found. 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 #SandraBirchmoreCase #FarwellTrial #StoughtonPolice #BirchmoreTrial #FederalMurderTrial #JusticeForSandra #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
Matthew Farwell allegedly drove to his wife’s hospital room from Sandra Birchmore’s apartment building — still wearing the same clothes. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott examines what that transit reveals about the mind of a man who allegedly maintained two separate worlds and watched them collide. Farwell had never worn a mask before the night Sandra died, according to prosecutors. That night, he allegedly covered his face for the first time. Scott, author of Nightbird, explains what triggers that kind of behavioral shift and what it means when someone who has operated without concealment suddenly needs to hide. The interview covers how Farwell used his position and on-duty hours to access Sandra, the crisis when her pregnancy and her friend’s phone call threatened his double life, and the defense argument that now treats the psychological damage done to Sandra as proof she ended 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 #ShavaunScott #StoughtonPolice #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Nightbird #JusticeForSandra #TrueCrimeCommunity