
Why Sandra Birchmore's Case Was Closed in Hours
Hidden Killers Live! Daily True Crime News & BreakdownsShow Notes
Sandra Birchmore's death was ruled a suicide within three months, and prosecutors say the troopers who got there never recorded their interview with Matthew Farwell or asked for a warrant for his home or phone. Farwell, a former Stoughton detective, is on trial in federal court in Boston charged with killing a witness and causing the death of her unborn child. Video shows him entering her Canton apartment building on February 1, 2021, and leaving roughly 28 minutes later. The state medical examiner withdrew the suicide ruling in April 2026. Dr. Michael Baden, retained by her family, says she was strangled. The defense says Farwell had an affair, went to end it, and Sandra died by suicide. Live listener questions on how a case closed in hours gets reopened five years later, whether years of alleged pursuit from her teens can be separated from the murder charge, and what everyday jurors do with two doctors who disagree. 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 #MassachusettsStatePolice #MichaelBaden #JusticeForSandra #TrueCrime #FederalTrial
More from Hidden Killers Live! Daily True Crime News & Breakdowns
Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara testified for the government at Matthew Farwell's trial while on paid leave, and both sides had already agreed not to ask her about her fight with Town Hall. Eric Faddis joins me to ask why. McNamara says Town Manager Thomas Calter ordered her to destroy a 2024 internal report on the Sandra Birchmore case. Calter flatly denies it. Her lawyer says the report holds damaging material about another former police employee. Calter has said the report deals with how the department handled the January 20, 2021 call from Sandra's friend. A dispatcher testified at trial that he carried that call to Farwell's office and his notes ended up in the trash. Who do you think that report protects? Put it in the chat. 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.
Matthew Farwell is the one on trial, but the cops who handled Sandra Birchmore's death keep taking the stand. Eric Faddis joins me to rank the five worst moments. State Police examiner Nicholas Guarino testified he found no messages between Farwell and Sandra on Farwell's phone and returned it to him. The FBI later recovered thousands. A dispatcher testified he carried a friend's warning call about Farwell straight to Farwell's office, and that his notes went in the trash. Former Stoughton deputy chief Brian Holmes testified he first saw the lobby video of a masked Farwell online, like Chief Donna McNamara. Which of these would bother you most as a juror? Drop it in the chat and I'll put it to Eric. 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 #HiddenKillersLive #EricFaddis #FarwellTrial #StoughtonPolice #JusticeForSandra #TrueCrime #CoverUp #TrueCrimeCommunity
Matthew Farwell's defense is telling a federal jury that Sandra Birchmore took her own life. Eric Faddis joins me to test that claim against the five strongest pieces of the government's case. The DNA comes first. Prosecutors say Farwell's genetic profile was found on the strap used to hang Sandra from a closet door, and that state investigators never collected a sample from him in 2021. The FBI got one in 2024. The phone comes next. Prosecutors say Farwell searched whether Cellebrite could recover deleted iMessages after Sandra died, and that State Police found no messages between them when they looked at his phone. Eric also takes on the friend's call to Stoughton police on January 20, 2021, the call prosecutors say gave Farwell his motive. Drop your read on the DNA in the chat. 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 #HiddenKillersLive #EricFaddis #FarwellTrial #StoughtonPolice #JusticeForSandra #TrueCrime #CoverUp #TrueCrimeCommunity
What three Stoughton officers were allegedly doing to Sandra Birchmore over the course of a decade — and why the department is still trying to bury it. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott breaks down the psychology of every layer of this case in a comprehensive four-part interview. The targeting: how officers allegedly used a badge, a youth program, and a grieving child’s missing father to reshape her understanding of love. The individual: Farwell’s alleged double life, the mask, the clothes he allegedly wore from Sandra’s building to his wife’s hospital room. The group: Devine’s mentorship of the Farwell brothers, William’s alleged involvement, and a dead woman called a liar at her own program leader’s hearing. The institution: Chief McNamara allegedly told to destroy the investigation she opened, now on leave while the department she tried to hold accountable carries on. Scott, author of Nightbird, examines what each layer reveals about the others. 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
When Timmy Gibson heard JP Miller's sermons, he didn't hear theology. He heard a pastor allegedly using scripture to control the room. Gibson left the evangelical ministry after thirty years and sat down for Homicide Happy Hour to talk about Miller. He quoted one sermon where Miller allegedly told his congregation that if wives fall short, the devil has twenty replacements lined up. Gibson says that's gaslighting dressed as doctrine. Miller has been indicted federally for cyberstalking and making false statements. He denies the charges. Mica Miller died in April 2024. Her death was ruled a suicide, and Miller is not charged in connection with it. Gibson confirmed the word cult with psychotherapist Shavaun Scott before using it on camera. He says the roughly fifteen people still allegedly showing up to hear Miller preach are in one. 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. #JPMiller #MicaMiller #TimmyGibson #HomicideHappyHour #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #SolidRockChurch #CoerciveControl #EvangelicalChurch #MyrtleBeach