Episode Details

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?

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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.

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