February 1, 2021

• Farwell texted Birchmore to say he was on his way to her apartment. Despite his history of resisting COVID-19 mask mandates, he entered her apartment wearing a face mask.
• Surveillance footage captured Farwell leaving the apartment building shortly after the critical window.

Apartment Conditions

• The apartment was cluttered and unkempt.
• Two cats were present in the apartment.
• The bedroom door was closed. When opened, officers found a desk lamp and colored Christmas lights turned on.

Bedroom Scene

• The bed was unmade, with only a sheet over the mattress and the box spring exposed.
• Sandra’s eyeglasses were found on the bed.
• A U.S. Army ACU-pattern duffel bag was among the scattered items in the room.

Body Position and Condition

• Sandra was found seated on the floor with a scarf or strap tightly wrapped around her neck and secured to the bedroom closet door handle.
• Reports vary, with some referring to it as a scarf and others as a strap.
• Officer Ensley Cotard noted a large pool of dried blood around her mouth.

Phone Activity Data

• 9:13 PM: Sandra’s phone was locked after sending the final text to Matthew Farwell stating that the door was unlocked.
• 9:18 PM: A screenshot of a black screen was recorded.
• 9:40 PM: The phone’s motion sensors registered eight steps. This activity occurred while Matthew Farwell was still inside the apartment.
• After 9:40 PM: The phone recorded no additional activity until first responders recovered it on February 4, 2021.

February 6, 2021

• Matthew Farwell is interviewed by the Massachusetts State Police as part of the Sandra Birchmore death investigation. He states that he had known Sandra for about ten years and met her when she was in the Explorers Program.

February 11, 2021

• William Farwell is interviewed by the Massachusetts State Police. He states that he first met Sandra about ten years earlier when she was in the Explorers Program and he was a guest instructor.

February 9, 2021

• Detectives collect an iPhone 11 from Farwell. Later, investigators recovered Farwell’s iCloud account, which contained images cited in federal filings as confirming an interest in domestic and sexual violence, including strangulation.

June 18, 2024

• Dr. Michael Baden concludes that Sandra Birchmore’s death was a homicide by strangulation, contradicting the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s suicide finding.

August 28, 2024

• Federal authorities indict former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell in connection with Sandra Birchmore’s death.

July 15, 2025

• The evidentiary adjudicatory hearing in Robert Devine’s POST Commission case resumed. Evidence included material concerning allegations involving Sandra Birchmore and communications attributed to a Facebook account using the alias “Marty Riggs.” Source

June 25, 2025 

• Farwell faces possibility of the death penalty. The indictment includes a charge (“killing a witness or victim”) for which sentencing could be death or life in prison.

July 16, 2025

• The POST Commission completed another day of evidentiary proceedings in Robert Devine’s certification case. Both sides later elected to submit written closing memoranda instead of presenting oral closing arguments. Source

• Abington/Stoughton POST Commission considers discipline of ex-official Joshua Heal, the fourth ex-Stoughton employee implicated in misconduct related to the Birchmore case. The Commission deliberations stem from earlier misconduct reporting in 2022.

August 25, 2025

• Robert Devine and the Division of Police Standards submitted closing memoranda, including proposed findings of fact, following the evidentiary hearing concerning Devine’s police certification. Source

October 10, 2025

• The hearing officer issued an Initial Decision in Robert Devine’s POST Commission case.
• The hearing officer found, by clear and convincing evidence, that Devine had a pattern of unprofessional police conduct that could escalate and had repeated, sustained internal-affairs complaints.
• The hearing officer also found that Devine had been untruthful concerning communications and a meeting with an individual identified in the proceeding as S.B., finding that evidence supported the conclusion that Devine communicated with Sandra using the Facebook alias “Marty Riggs.”
• The hearing officer recommended revoking Devine’s law-enforcement certification and reporting the revocation to the National Decertification Index. Source

• A hearing was held. Farwell did not appear. He has been held without bail, by agreement, since his indictment. The presiding judge set a hearing on a motion to dismiss for March 12, 2026, and scheduled Farwell’s trial to start on Oct. 5, 2026.
• U.S. District Judge Denise Casper also ordered federal prosecutors to file notice by Jan. 20 if they intend to pursue the death penalty against Farwell. The crime he is charged with, killing a witness or victim, is punishable by death. It carries a minimum sentence of life in prison. Casper essentially overrode both prosecutors and Farwell’s defense, who said there was no need to set deadlines at this stage. She also said the October trial date would stand whether or not Farwell is facing the death penalty.

• A former Stoughton police officer who was previously indicted for allegedly murdering Sandra Birchmore, a pregnant woman, to prevent her from disclosing information about his sexual exploitation of her beginning when she was a minor, has been indicted for allegedly causing the death of Birchmore’s unborn son. Source
• The new indictment filed in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts details about Birchmore’s pregnancy: the child was male, conceived about 8-10 weeks before. Indictment Source

November 7, 2025

• Robert Devine filed objections to the POST hearing officer’s Initial Decision. Devine disputed findings concerning his earlier internal-affairs matters and challenged the finding that he communicated with Sandra through the “Marty Riggs” account and met her for a sexual encounter while on duty. Source

November 20, 2025

• Devine filed an additional brief arguing that his due-process rights had been violated during the POST proceeding. Among his arguments, Devine challenged the use of evidence attributed to Sandra because she was deceased and therefore unavailable for cross-examination. Source

• 11:00 AM: Former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell was scheduled to appear in federal court at 11 a.m. for arraignment on newly filed charges related to the death of Sandra Birchmore’s unborn child.
  • Farwell waived his personal appearance, allowing the arraignment to proceed without him being physically present in court.
  • The new charges expand the federal case and formally address the circumstances surrounding Birchmore’s pregnancy at the time of her death.

December 1, 2025

• The Division of Police Standards responded to Devine’s objections and argued that the evidence supported the findings against him.
• The Division specifically addressed communications attributed to the “Marty Riggs” Facebook account, arguing that the messages, username information, employment-related details, and work schedule supported the finding that Devine authored the communications. Source

• The United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts filed a formal Notice Regarding the Death Penalty in case number 24-10259-DJC.
• The filing states that the Attorney General of the United States has directed the government not to seek the death penalty in the prosecution of Matthew Farwell.
• United States Attorney Leah B. Foley submitted the notice, along with Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth C. Riley, Brian A. Fogerty, and Torey B. Cummings.
• This decision removes capital punishment as a potential sentencing outcome in the federal witness-killing case connected to the death of Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child.

December 18, 2025

• The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission issued its final decision in the case of Robert Devine.
• The Commission found by clear and convincing evidence that Devine had a pattern of unprofessional police conduct that could escalate and repeated, sustained internal-affairs complaints involving the same or different offenses.
• The Commission stated that it did not need to independently reach the hearing officer’s separate finding concerning Devine’s alleged untruthfulness because the other findings were sufficient to support disciplinary action.
• The Commission revoked Devine’s Massachusetts law-enforcement certification.
• The Commission directed its executive director to provide the revocation information to the National Decertification Index.
• Massachusetts law allowed Devine to seek judicial review in Superior Court within 30 days. Source

• Robert Devine files a Complaint for Judicial Review in Suffolk Superior Court. He seeks reversal of the POST decision, reinstatement of certification, and removal from the POST registry. Source
• Grounds for Appeal Asserted by Devine:
  • Devine checks and asserts all statutory bases for judicial reversal, including:
  • Violation of constitutional provisions
  • Decision based on an error of law
  • Unlawful procedure
  • Unsupported by substantial evidence
  • Arbitrary and capricious decision-making
  • Excess of authority

• 11:00 AM – A hearing on the motion to change venue in the Matthew Farwell case is set for January 20, 2026.
• The hearing will be held in person in Courtroom 10 before Chief District Judge Denise J. Casper.
• Deadline for Pros to file a motion if they intend to pursue the death penalty against Farwell. The crime he is charged with, killing a witness or victim, is punishable by death. It carries a minimum sentence of life in prison.

• Chief U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper denied Farwell’s motion to transfer the case out of Massachusetts, finding that he had not shown the level of pretrial prejudice required for a venue change. Source

• Deadline to file motion to dismiss – If Farwell’s defense files a motion to dismiss, it must do so by February 20, 2026.

• Judge Casper denied Farwell’s motion to dismiss the superseding indictment. The court rejected the defense argument that Count I failed to sufficiently allege the federal nexus required under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(1)(C). Source

• Deadline to file Motion to suppress evidence.

• Defense files Opposition to Government’s Motion for Detention in United States v. Matthew Farwell in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
• The filing argues that pretrial release is required under the Bail Reform Act, asserting the government cannot meet its burden to prove:
  • Risk of flight
  • Risk of obstruction
  • Danger to the community
  • Defense proposes multiple conditions of release, including:
  • Third-party custody (mother)
  • Home confinement with electronic monitoring
  • Travel restricted to Massachusetts
  • No contact with witnesses
  • Firearm prohibition
  • $50,000 unsecured bond
  • The motion emphasizes that “liberty is the norm” and detention is a limited exception, citing federal precedent.
• The filing identifies the central factual dispute in the case as:
  • Whether Sandra Birchmore’s death was suicide or homicide
• Defense highlights forensic conflict, stating:
  • The Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a suicide
  • A second federal forensic pathologist agreed with that determination
  • The government relied on a third expert who concluded homicide
  • The OCME has not changed its ruling
• The filing states that:
  • Matthew Farwell was excluded as the father of Sandra Birchmore’s unborn child through DNA testing
  • It references a confirmed biological father who has not been publicly named
  • Separately, it notes Mr. Farwell’s brother is a named defendant in a related civil lawsuit
  • “These include, according to the government’s own evidence, Mr. Farwell’s brother who is a named defendant in the civil lawsuit as well as the confirmed biological father of Ms. Birchmore’s fetus who has thus far not been publicly named.”
• Defense argues Farwell’s conduct over more than three years following Birchmore’s death (February 2021 to August 2024) demonstrates:
  • No attempt to flee
  • No obstruction of investigations
  • Continued residence in Massachusetts
  • Cooperation with law enforcement and legal proceedings
• The filing outlines Farwell’s background, including:
  • U.S. Army service with deployment to Afghanistan
  • Law enforcement career with commendations and promotion to detective
  • No prior criminal record
  • Strong family and community ties
  • The defense concludes that:
  • The government has not met the legal standard for detention
  • Even if concerns exist, conditions of release can reasonably mitigate any risk, requiring pretrial release under federal law

April 6, 2026

• Federal prosecutors filed a supplemental memorandum opposing Matthew Farwell’s request for release from pretrial detention and disclosed significant additional evidence developed after his August 2024 arrest.
• Prosecutors stated that FBI testing found Farwell’s DNA on the ligature that had been around Sandra Birchmore’s neck. According to the filing, Massachusetts State Police testing in May 2021 had detected male DNA on the ligature but investigators did not have a Farwell comparison sample at that time.
• The filing states that Farwell’s sperm cells were also identified in multiple locations on the underwear Sandra was wearing when her body was discovered on February 4, 2021. Prosecutors argued that this evidence contradicted Farwell’s statement to Massachusetts State Police that he had last had sex with Sandra in October 2020.
• Federal DNA testing excluded Matthew Farwell as the biological father of Sandra’s unborn son. Prosecutors nevertheless stated that communications between Sandra and Farwell indicated that both believed Farwell was the father during the pregnancy and that the government considered Farwell’s belief relevant to its alleged motive.
• Prosecutors disclosed additional medical evidence that they contend corroborates their allegation that Farwell sexually exploited Sandra when she was 15, including the May 1, 2013 birth-control request and the May 30, 2013 statement to a doctor that Sandra was sexually active.
• The government said investigators obtained additional evidence indicating that Sandra recognized herself as a victim of Farwell’s alleged crimes and referred to herself as such in communications with friends.
• According to prosecutors, after learning she was pregnant, Sandra became more assertive and resistant to Farwell’s manipulation.
• The filing states that Sandra contacted attorneys to begin planning for possible paternity, child-custody, and child-support proceedings.
• FBI interviews and Sandra’s communications indicated, according to prosecutors, that she intended to obtain financial support from Farwell for the child they both believed he fathered.
• Prosecutors also disclosed testimony from a former Stoughton Police Department employee who said Farwell became enraged after learning Sandra had disclosed their sexual relationship and allegedly instructed the employee not to discuss it with anyone.
• The government cited additional witness accounts concerning Farwell’s behavior in the months and weeks before Sandra’s death as evidence prosecutors contend supports their theory of premeditation.
• Prosecutors asked the court to keep Farwell detained pending trial, arguing that he presented a danger to the community and risks of obstruction and flight. Source

• The ME’s office has revised Sandra Birchmore’s cause of death from “asphyxia by hanging” to just “asphyxia” with the manner of death “undetermined”

• U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley issued a written 9-page detention order ordering former Matthew Farwell to be held without bail pending trial in the federal case involving the death of Sandra Birchmore.
• Earlier that day, Farwell appeared in federal court in Boston wearing a prison jumpsuit and shackles during proceedings before Chief U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper.
• The morning hearing focused on defense motions seeking to suppress or exclude evidence, along with a request for an evidentiary hearing regarding law enforcement’s handling of the investigation. Judge Casper indicated from the bench that she was likely to deny the evidentiary hearing request.
• Separate detention and bail arguments were handled before Magistrate Judge Kelley. Defense attorneys requested Farwell’s release on a $50,000 bond with GPS monitoring and proposed that he reside with his mother in Mansfield, Massachusetts, pending trial.
• Federal prosecutors opposed release, arguing that Farwell posed a danger to the community, a flight risk, and a risk of obstructing justice.
• In her written ruling, Judge Kelley concluded that Farwell should remain detained pending trial, finding:
  • He posed “a danger to the community.”
  • He posed “a risk of flight.”
  • He posed “a risk of obstruction of justice.”
  • Kelley further wrote that the government’s case appeared “very strong, if not overwhelming” at the pretrial stage, despite the absence of full cross-examination or trial testimony.
  • The judge additionally found that “no condition or combination of conditions” could reasonably assure either community safety or Farwell’s appearance in court if released.
  • The ruling noted that Farwell faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted on the federal charges.

• Judge Casper denied Farwell’s request to suppress evidence obtained from his phone and iCloud account. The memorandum explaining the ruling was filed under seal. Source

• Judge Casper denied Farwell’s motion for a bill of particulars seeking additional details about the alleged federal nexus of the charges. Source

• Paternity of Sandra Birchmore’s Unborn Son: U.S. Army recruiter Jason Pickard was identified as the biological father of Sandra Birchmore’s unborn baby boy.
• The paternity finding confirms that Matthew Farwell was not the child’s biological father. The issue had previously surfaced publicly in 2025, and federal court records acknowledge reporting that Farwell did not impregnate Birchmore.
• Farwell nevertheless remains charged with causing the death of a child in utero, in addition to the federal charge alleging he killed Birchmore to prevent her from communicating information concerning his alleged federal crimes. Source
• Final Pretrial Conference, U.S. District Court: Chief U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper issued several significant evidentiary rulings ahead of Farwell’s October 5 trial. The judge granted the government’s request to admit certain out-of-court statements made by Sandra Birchmore before her death, over defense objections. The permitted evidence includes portions of:
• Birchmore’s electronic communications recovered from her cellphone and laptop.
• Social media communications.
• Statements Birchmore made to witnesses who will testify at trial.
• Excerpts from Birchmore’s handwritten journals.
• Judge Casper denied Farwell’s motions seeking to exclude opinion testimony from Birchmore’s mental-health provider and OB/GYN.
• The court also rejected the defense effort to prevent testimony from family members and friends who are expected to say they were surprised by Birchmore’s death and did not believe she was suicidal.
• The defense did obtain at least one favorable ruling. Judge Casper allowed its request to prevent FBI audio narration of text messages presented at trial.
• Additional evidentiary disputes remained under consideration during the final pretrial proceedings, including disputes involving expert testimony and hundreds of proposed exhibits.
• Jury selection and trial are scheduled to begin October 5, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Boston.

• A final witness list must be filed by Sept. 21, 2026.

• Farwell’s attorneys filed a renewed request to transfer the trial out of Massachusetts, arguing that recent local media coverage would prevent a fair trial in the district. Source

• Judge Casper moved the start of jury selection from October 5 to October 6 because other jury trials were already scheduled to begin on October 5. Source

• Judge Casper denied Farwell’s renewed motion to move the trial out of Massachusetts, again finding that the defense had not met the burden of showing that pretrial publicity would prevent a fair trial in the district. Source

October 2, 2026

• Matthew Farwell appeared before Chief U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper at the John J. Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston for the final pretrial conference before jury selection. Farwell initially entered the courtroom in a tan jail-issued jumpsuit and restraints. After his attorneys spoke with U.S. Marshals, he left the courtroom and returned wearing a dark gray suit and blue shirt, the type of clothing he is expected to wear during trial. Source⁠
• Farwell’s defense disclosed the previously unreported loss of the underlying forensic data from Birchmore’s MacBook Air. Defense attorney Joanne Daley said Trooper Nicholas Guarino’s server crashed on August 24, 2024, and described the result to the court: “They lost everything.” According to the defense, only a PDF extraction of the laptop remained. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Fogerty told the court that the government would address the issue after the defense filed a motion concerning the loss. Source⁠
• The laptop-data issue could become significant at trial because investigators recovered thousands of communications between Birchmore and Farwell from Birchmore’s devices. Farwell previously told investigators that he had deleted his communications with Birchmore. The defense’s digital-forensics expert, Daniel Loper, is expected to challenge aspects of law enforcement’s collection, preservation, and interpretation of digital evidence. Source⁠
• Loper has analyzed more than 400 gigabytes of digital discovery produced by the government, including cellphone extractions, cloud-account information, Birchmore’s MacBook Air data, and Apple Health information. His proposed testimony includes issues involving Birchmore’s internet search for “what color is the suicide ribbon,” activity data recorded near the time prosecutors allege she was killed, surveillance-video timing, and information extracted from Farwell’s personal iPhone 11. Source⁠
• Another unresolved issue involved Loper’s proposed testimony concerning a 9:41:43 p.m. event recorded by Birchmore’s laptop on February 1, 2021. According to court filings describing Loper’s proposed testimony, the MacBook experienced a four-second power on/off event at that time. The defense has also alleged that law enforcement’s digital-evidence collection resulted in the loss of laptop information after 9:10:52 p.m. Source⁠
• Loper has also identified what the defense describes as a 12-minute, 57-second discrepancy between timestamps associated with surveillance footage and one of the iPhones collected during the investigation. The timing may be significant because prosecutors allege surveillance footage shows Farwell entering Birchmore’s apartment building at 9:14 p.m. and leaving at 9:43 p.m., while Birchmore’s phone recorded its final movement about three minutes before Farwell allegedly left the building. Source⁠
• The parties also disputed the scope of Farwell’s consent for Massachusetts State Police to search his personal iPhone 11 following an unrecorded interview on February 9, 2021. Prosecutors maintained that Farwell consented only to a search for communications between himself and Birchmore. Investigators extracted the entire device but, according to prosecutors, reviewed only material they believed fell within that limited consent. Source⁠
• Farwell’s defense disputed the government’s interpretation of the consent. Daley argued that Farwell’s signed consent form permitted investigators to search his phone for any digital evidence relevant to Birchmore’s death, rather than only communications between Farwell and Birchmore. When Judge Casper asked whether the defense was placing Farwell’s consent to such a search on the record in open court, Daley answered yes. Source⁠
• Following that representation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Fogerty said the government would conduct another review of Farwell’s extracted cellphone data for evidence related to Birchmore’s death. The review would exclude privileged material, including communications with Farwell’s attorneys, wife, therapist, or clergy. Source⁠
• The cellphone dispute centers on proposed defense evidence that Birchmore’s former telephone number appeared in the blocked-number data on Farwell’s iPhone. The defense plans to have Loper testify that Farwell blocked Birchmore’s number on February 3, 2021, two days after prosecutors allege Farwell killed her on February 1, 2021. Prosecutors sought to restrict or exclude Loper’s testimony while questioning whether they had sufficient access to the underlying data to independently evaluate his conclusions. Source⁠
• Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Riley asked Judge Casper to prevent the defense from suggesting to jurors that Farwell had consented in 2021 to an unrestricted search of his phone. Riley argued that investigators understood Farwell’s consent at the time to be limited to communications with Birchmore. Lead defense attorney Kimberly Stevens said that if the defense addressed the issue before the jury, she would limit the presentation to what Farwell’s written consent document actually stated. Source⁠
• Judge Casper did not issue a final ruling on the remaining motions concerning portions of Loper’s proposed digital-forensics testimony, leaving the dispute unresolved immediately before jury selection. Source⁠
• Judge Casper finalized the jury-selection procedure. Two groups of 40 prospective jurors are scheduled to report on October 6, 2026, with the first group arriving at 9:00 a.m. and the second at 12:30 p.m. Prospective jurors will complete handwritten questionnaires before attorneys and the court review their responses. Source⁠
• The court plans to seat 16 jurors: 12 regular jurors and four alternates. Individual questioning is expected to begin October 8, 2026, with additional questioning available on October 9, 2026, if necessary. After challenges are exercised, the final panel will be reduced to 16 jurors. Source⁠
• Judge Casper instructed both sides to be prepared to deliver opening statements as early as 9:00 a.m. on October 9, 2026, if jury selection is completed in time. Trial proceedings are generally expected to run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, in Courtroom 10, with testimony expected to take approximately 20 trial days. Source⁠
• Judge Casper also addressed courtroom conduct for the high-profile trial. Clothing, buttons, signs, or other items displaying support for either the prosecution or defense will not be permitted in the courtroom. Source⁠

• Jury selection is scheduled to begin in U.S. District Court in Boston. Source