Ex-Cop Groomed Pregnant Teen, Then Killed Her: Prosecutors

Day one of the Matthew Farwell trial out. of Massachusetts. The man accused of. killing Sandra Birmore and her unborn. child. There are a lot of eyeballs on. this case for years. We're going to. break down what you need to know about. this story and what we can expect from. this trial. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse. Weber. After five years, we are about to begin. the federal murder trial of Sandra. Burmore. If you've been following this.

saga since 2021, there is a lot to watch. out for. I mean, there is a Facebook. page called Justice for Sandra Birmore. that has about 21,000 members. There are. people who have been invested in this. case, studying this case, dissecting all. aspects of it for years. And now we have. the criminal trial. And as we're now in. the throws of jury selection, I want to. summarize the case. I'm going to bring. on the amazing Sierra Gillespie, long. crime reporter, host of Scandal outside.

the courthouse. Going to be our eyes and. ears for what happens inside there. because there are no cameras in federal. court. But let me give you some. perspective here. Let me give you. backstory. Back on February 4th, 2021, 23-year-old pregnant Sandra Burmore was. found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts. apartment. Now, Canton, Karen Reed, there are overlaps. We'll get into it. For years, her death was listed as a. suicide. She was apparently found seated. on the floor, what has been reported a. duffel bag strap tied around her neck. with the other end hanging from a.

doororknob. And then three years later, that is when now 40-year-old former. police officer Matthew Farwell was. arrested. He was then officially charged. by federal authorities with killing a. witness or victim, killing Sandra and. her unborn child. Why? Because. prosecutors allege, and I'll read. directly from the first indictment here, and keep in mind that Sandra had joined. the local police explorers program as a. 12-year-old and then would meet Farwell, reading verbatim, quote, before Birmore.

attained the age of 16 years old, Farwell engaged in sexual intercourse. and other sex acts with Birmore. Farwell. sexual contact with Birmore continued. until in or around early 2021. During. some of the shifts when Farwell was. supposed to be performing his duties as. a Stoen Police officer, he was instead. engaged in sex acts with Birmore. He. failed to disclose that information to. the Stoen Police Department and he took. steps to conceal his conduct from other. department employees. In or around.

December 2020, Birmore learned that she. was pregnant. Birch told Farwell that he. was the father of the child. On or about. January 20th, 2021, Birch's friend. called the Stoton Police Department and. told a department employee that Farwell. had been having sex with Birmore. Shortly thereafter, a Stoen Police. Department employee told Farwell about. the call. On or about February 1st, 2021, Farwell killed Birmore by. strangulation. Shortly thereafter, Farwell staged Birmore's Canton,

Massachusetts apartment to make it. appear as if Birmore had committed. suicide. And then he was hit, by the. way, with a superseding indictment. He. now faces two federal charges, so. killing a witness or victim and causing. the death of an unborn child. If. convicted, he could spend the rest of. his life in prison. He was eligible for. the death penalty, but then United. States Attorney General Pam Bondi. instructed prosecutors not to pursue. that avenue. He has pled not guilty. He. is innocent unless proven guilty. Let me.

make that clear too. And I also should. tell you this is very significant. We. are talking about a federal homicide. case because one of the areas of. controversy is that state authorities. never charged Farwell with Sandra's. alleged murder. Significant. Now, I want. to give you some more details here, and. I'm going to read from an affidavit that. was part of a detention memo. So, take a. listen to this quote. When she was a. young girl, Sandra Birmore was. interested in pursuing a career in law. enforcement and eventually joined the. Stoen Police Explorers Academy to learn.

more about law enforcement careers. While Birch was in the program, Farwell. was involved as both a volunteer and an. instructor. Farwell used his authority. and access to groom, sexually exploit, and ultimately sexually abuse then. 15-year-old Birch. Farwell continued. this sexual abuse after Burmore became. an adult and he continued to engage in. an extrammarital sexual relationship. with Birmore until he killed her on. February 1st, 2021. On February 1st,

2021, then Stoton police detective. Matthew Farwell killed Sandra Birmore. Farwell committed this murder, at least. in part to prevent Burmore, from. disclosing to authorities information. regarding his commission or possible. commission of one or more crimes, including coercion and enticement, deprivation of rights under color of. law, and a then ongoing wire fraud. scheme. Farwell's murder of Birmore was. the culmination of Farwell's yearslong. pattern of abuse targeting Birmore. What's the potential evidence, you might.

be asking? What can we maybe see? And I. go back to this 2024 affidavit just to. give you an idea of what authorities had. reportedly collected. There is going to. be a question of what will actually see. at trial. But just take a listen. Quote, "After Birch Moore's death, law. enforcement agents obtained Birmore's. cell phones, both Apple iPhones and. laptop, and reviewed the data on those. devices. During that review, agents. discovered messages between Farwell and. Birmore. The messages confirmed that. Farwell frequently communicated with.

Birmore for years. The messages also. indicate that Farwell had sex with. Birmore when she was a minor starting in. or around April 2013 when Birmore was 15. and Farwell was 27. On February 11th, 2020, Birmore and Farwell discussed the. exact day that Farwell took then. 15-year-old Birmore's virginity. And. this is the conversation that's embedded. in this document. Quote, Birchmore, I. had butterflies so bad the day you took. my virginity. Farwell apparently. responds, "Me, too. It was such a big.

day." Quote, "Text messages between. Birmore and others confirm that Farwell. sexually abused Birmore as a child and. continued a sexual relationship with her. until her death. For example, on October. 5th, 2020, Birmore texted one of her. friends that Farwell had been having sex. with her for the last almost 10 years. And there is more alleged evidence about. their supposed relationship, including. what appears to be increased pressure on. him to keep her quiet because of her. pregnancy. And it turns out that even.

though prosecutors seem to suggest and. argue that Farwell may have believed. that Sandra Birmore was carrying his. child, he wasn't even the father. DNA. testing excluded him. But what about the. evidence of the actual alleged murder? Right? This is all about what would lead. into the motive in a way, their theory. of the case. What about the actual. murder? Well, talking DNA, prosecutors. seem to claim that his DNA is linked to. the liature and Sandra's clothing. But. then you go back to this affidavit and.

it reads, quote, Farwell was making a. plan to kill Birmore. Part of that plan. included asking Birch to give him a key. and keep it secret. Another part of that. plan was inspecting various rooms at. Birmore's apartment, including the. closet, to determine whether they. contained items or presented options for. how and when to kill Birch. Farwell's. request for a key for Birch's apartment. in the week leading up to her death is. corroborated by other evidence. According to text messages, Birch Moore. and Farwell exchanged on January 29th,

2021. Birmore again gave Farwell the. passcode to her building's front door, and Farwell verified that the code was. the general one given to the entire. building, not just one assigned to her. Farwell requesting or accepting a key to. Birmore's apartment was a sudden change. from recent conversations. Investigators. have reviewed surveillance videos from. Birmore's Canton apartment building. On. February 1st, 2021, she is seen on the. video at approximately 5:01 p.m.

accepting a door dash order and then. again going outside briefly and. returning with a snow brush at 5:31 p.m. and 5:33 p.m. respectively. The last. time Birmore is seen alive on the video. is on February 1st, 2021 at 5:33 p.m. Later that evening at approximately 9:08. p.m., Farwell sent Burmore a text. message asking whether he could quote, "Come by for a second." At approximately. 9:10 p.m., Birmore sent Farwell a text. message indicating that when he arrived.

at her apartment, the door would be open. for him. This is the last known outgoing. message sent from Birmore's cell phone. Surveillance video shows Farwell. entering Birchmore's Canton apartment. building at 9:14 p.m. In the. surveillance video, Farwell is wearing. street clothes, a hoodie with the hood. up, and a face mask that is similar to. the medical face masks that many people. use during the CO 19 pandemic. I have. interviewed multiple witnesses who have. each indicated that Farwell resisted. wearing a mask during the pandemic. One.

of these witnesses stated that Farwell. would only wear a mask when on duty and. required by department policy to do so. The video surveillance recording shows. that Farwell left Birmore's apartment at. 9:43 p.m. And as far as the evidence to. suggest that this wasn't a suicide, you. go back to this document. Quote, I have. interviewed family members who helped. clean Burmore's apartment in the days. following her death. Some of the things. they observed were also inconsistent. with Burmore deciding to die by suicide.

For example, during their first visit, they noted that Birch Moore had been in. the middle of doing laundry when she. died with a load of wet clothes in the. washing machine and another load dry in. the dryer. Additionally, they observed a. homemade sign saying, "Congratulations, you're going to be a father." That sign. had an ultrasound photo on it and was. sprinkled with glitter. Additionally, in. Birmore's apartment, family members. observed a new baby stroller that was. still in its package. They also observed. homemade and store-bought onesies for a. baby. one ones he read were going to be.

parents with a set of footprints. underneath. And authorities also alleged. in this document that Farwell had this. history of violence and choking. Birchmore, a fascination with rape. fantasies. Now, I'm not sure how much. that's going to play a role in this. case. And I will also tell you, I am. sure the defense would argue that. sometimes people can harm themselves at. the most unexpected or surprising times. that they can do something to themselves.

when all the other outward signs would. point to the contrary. You really don't. know what someone's going through. But. in terms of the evidence, I'm also going. to add this. It was recently reported. that federal prosecutors believe that. Farwell's phone has some key evidence. And there's a whole dispute about. whether or not he consented to a search. of it. But in a motion, they write, "Despite the defendant's efforts to. delete data, in the hours since the. defendant announced he now consents to a. full search, the government has. identified incriminating evidence on.

that device." Now, it's interesting. going back to the affidavit. Remember, I. talked about all the apparent or alleged. communications, but this part I thought. was significant. Quote, "On February. 9th, 2021, after giving his personal. cell phone to state police detectives, Farwell used his Stoen police issued. cell phone to make and delete two Google. searches." First, Farwell searched for. and deleted, "Can delete iMessage be. recovered by Celebrite." He then. searched for and deleted, "Can you. revoke consent in Massachusetts?" I have.

identified text messages between Farwell. and Birmore in which Farwell directed. Birmore to destroy evidence of their. sexual relationship. On March 11th, 2019, Farwell sent Birchmore a text. reminding her to quote, "Make sure you. clear all this out." On March 19th, 2019, Farwell sent Birmore text about. his desire to use sexual violence and to. pretend to rape her. At the end of this. conversation, Farwell sent her a text. indicating that he was going to bed and.

instructed her to quote, "Clear out this. text." Now, it's also our expectation. that the defense is going to claim that. Sandra Burmore died as a result of. suicide, possibly going to present. evidence of an alleged history of self. harm. That has been a point of. contention, too, because for years, her. death was classified by the chief. medical examiner as suicide. It wasn't. until earlier this year that it was. officially changed to undetermined. And. you go back to June 2024. That's when.

acclaimed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Boden determined that Sandra. Birmore was in fact killed a victim of. homicide. That's his opinion. It was in. contrast to the chief medical examiner. He was also, by the way, actually. retained by the Birmore family who filed. their own wrongful death lawsuit. So. look, we anticipate possibly a battle of. experts here. In fact, WBUR reports that. the judge in this case, US District. Judge Denise Casper, ruled that two. forensic experts for the prosecution, so. Dr. Michael Boden and Dr. William Smok,

can and will testify that Burmore's. injuries are consistent with. strangulation. Now, the defense seems to. plan to call Dr. Thomas Andrew, New. Hampshire's former chief medical. examiner, to testify. And this also. raises kind of a side issue. Maybe maybe. it's not a side issue. Maybe it's more. of a central issue to this case about. whether the investigation is credible, whether the investigation was tainted, whether it was botched. How much that's. going to factor into this trial is going. to be key because prosecutors seem to.

contend that local and state authorities. incorrectly determined that Sandra. Burmore died by suicide. That is when. the FBI jumped in. So, this is kind of a. basic overview of the case. But now, I. want to get into what we can expect at. this trial, including which witnesses. may testify. Yeah, that's a big one, too, because there are reports that. Farwell's twin brother, who was also a. police officer, may be called William. Farwell. He apparently resigned from the. force after allegations that he wasn't.

truthful with authorities about his own. parent sexual relationship with Sandra. Burmore. That's a big allegation. Also, the suspected father of Sandra's baby is. apparently on the witness list, too. And. there appears to be some overlap with. witnesses in this case and the Karen. Reed case, too. So, lot to get into. So, let me bring on somebody who is outside. of that federal courthouse right now. this morning in Boston, Massachusetts. Law and crime reporter, host of Scandal, Sierra Gillespie. Sierra, always love.

having you on. Thank you so much. you're. going to be our eyes and our ears for. what is happening in that courthouse. since no cameras are allowed. Um, thanks. so much for taking the time. Let's start. here. I mentioned how many people, you. know, are invested in this case. How. many people have been watching this. case? How many people have been waiting. for this trial? What is the scene like. outside the courthouse right now for. jury selection day one? >> Yeah, it's interesting, Jesse, because I. think all of us are comparing everything. to Lindsay Clancy or Caleb Flint, right?

because we just saw those major trials. So here I was coming. It's busy in. downtown Boston expecting something kind. of like that, but it isn't quite the. same. I mean, Lindsay Clancy is on the. far end of the spectrum where we saw. people who were protesting for and. against. Here we're not seeing as much. Mostly it's people who are heading to. work, you know, going to the buildings. that are nearby and reporters. I haven't. seen any spectators. It's just a lot of. people going to work about their. business. But you can tell that there is. an air of seriousness here because the.

charges, the allegations are are pretty. intense. And so you can kind of feel. that. But it isn't the same as some of. the recent trials we've been seeing. >> That's so interesting. It might change. during opening statements. Sometimes we. see that like that they don't come like. a lot of people who are following the. case won't come for the jury selection. part, but might come for uh openings day. one, which really people believe is like. the official start of the trial. Um, I I. heard jury selection could be. interesting in a case like this that has. gotten a lot of publicity. I mean, for. everybody who knows, you know, in the. Whitey Bulier case, okay, so out.

Massachusetts, they summoned, I read, almost 860 people to be questioned, to. fill out questionnaires. >> Do you think we're going to see. something like that today? Do you have. any sense of what the jury selection. process is going to look like in these. few days? 800 is a lot and Whitey Bulger obviously. a huge name known nationwide especially. here in Boston. So that's obviously a. high-profile case. Not to say that this. one isn't. I mean people have been.

following along with the Sandra Burmore. case really since it happened back in. 2021 and especially since charges were. brought in 2024. So Matthew Farwell is a. name that people know. I just don't know. if it's to the level that say a Whitey. Bulier would be. Now today is Tuesday. The judge expects jury selection to last. until around Thursday. Anything could. happen. I mean, sometimes we've seen a. jury seated really quickly. Sometimes. it's been kind of lengthy. If I'm. looking back to recent trials, just off. the top of my head, I've seen one that. was five days of jury selection. So, I.

know that both sides are definitely. going to be choosy here because this is. really important. Selecting your jury. and empaneling them is is really, really. important. So, I know that they're going. to take their time and be diligent. But. I don't know that we're going to have as. many people as you saw in a big case. like that. >> Yeah. Or what they're going to be. questioned about. I mean, first of all, I should tell everybody that um it was. reported that Matthew Farwell tried to. get this case moved out of. Massachusetts. That's what he wanted. I. mean, he probably felt that he couldn't. get a fair impartial jury here given how.

much attention is on it. Um, you know, one of the things I mentioned before is. there is this kind of overlap a bit with. the Karen Reed case that some of the. witnesses who may be called in this case. were maybe people who had were part of. the investigation in Karen Reed. Do you. know like if the jury is going to be. questioned about Karen Reed? Are they. going to be questioned? Did they follow. that case? Do they know anybody from. that case? That's something that I've. wondered as we've talked about kind of. the overlaps there. Right. >> You can feel it in the air. truly any.

Massachusetts case. I I joke about this, but I always say all roads lead back to. Karen Reed and in a way that they do. I. mean, we could talk about Michael. Proctor, for instance, who kind of had. involvement with the Sander Burmore. case. So, there truly is overlap here, number one. Number two, there's a major. distrust for law enforcement in. Massachusetts. We've seen this in a lot. of cases that we've had here recently, and I think that is definitely something. that the jurors are going to be. questioned about. Again, I keep. hearkening back to Lindsay Clancy, but I. was in the courtroom for jury selection. there, and they were asking about law.

enforcement. Because here's what's. tricky in this case is we have a former. law enforcement officer who's accused of. the most severe crime here, but. additionally, they're going to have law. enforcement experts to testify. So, we. need jurors to be able to hang their. hats with the experts, but at the same. time, an officer is accused. So, would I. be surprised if they're actually asking. questions about Karen Reed? Not. necessarily in a case like this. I mean, the underlying thing here is law. enforcement, and again, in Massachusetts. and even nationally, that's a hot topic.

of discussion. So, I think that's. definitely on the table. >> What do you anticipate in terms of how. much that's going to play a role in this. case? How much of um a microscope is. going to be on local and state. authorities in how they investigated the. death of Sandra Burmore? Because, as I. mentioned before, you know, he wasn't. charged with state crimes. He's been. charged with federal crimes. The FBI got. involved. Um, and I think there's a. question, a spotlight on why authorities. believed that this was a suicide for a. long period of time. And again, that's.

something that the defense is going to. be going with. But, um, what do you. think in terms of that playing a role in. this case? How much attention is going. to be on the investigation? >> So much attention is going to be on the. investigation in this case, in my. opinion, because to your point, Jesse, Sandra Burmore died in 2021. we didn't. see any charges until 2024. Okay, so. that there's already kind of a passage. of time there. But then when you add on. top of that the fact that originally her. death was ruled as a suicide and later.

all of this information that federal. prosecutors now say is the reason that. they've, you know, brought charges and. they believe that Matthew Farwell is. guilty. We have the images of him in her. apartment complex coming and going. around the time when we believe that she. was killed. There's the hyoid bone of it. all that isn't necessarily indicative of. dying by suicide, more leans towards. strangulation. And so, is it possible. that this is another case of an alleged. police cover up? I mean, this is. something that is definitely going to be. addressed and highlighted in this case.

>> Yeah, it'll be interesting how it's. crafted by both sides. Let's talk about. the witness list. >> Who are you expecting to testify? Who do. you think is going to move the needle? Who do you think is going to be those. days of testimony that you say watch out. for that's going to be significant? >> I believe there are a couple that I'm. kind of looking out for. One is Matthew. Farwell's twin brother. And if you go. back to the allegations, which I'm sure. you talked about here on sidebar, it. talks about how Matthew Farwell began. grooming Sandra Burmore when she was 12.

or 13, having physical or sexual contact. with her when she was only 15 years old. And that is really, really staggering. But it doesn't end with Matthew Farwell. There are additional allegations that. his twin brother was also sexual with. her. In addition, another man named. Robert Divine who was on the Stone. Police Department. So those men hearing. from them and their relations with. Sandra Burmore, that is going to be. huge. But moreover, I think her alleged. baby daddy or reported baby daddy here. And this is crazy. Okay, let me just. step back for a minute. Matthew Farwell.

believed that he was the father of. Sandra Burmore's baby. Or at least. that's what prosecutors are saying, right? And Sandra Burmore believed that, too. That's what prosecutors say was the. motive for him to allegedly kill her. But here's the thing, she he was not the. father of her baby, at least according. to the reports that we've seen. And her. alleged baby daddy is supposed to. testify for the prosecution. That's the. person that I'm watching out for here. because that's really interesting. I. mean, the defense could use that as an. advantage, the fact that he wasn't. actually the father based on the DNA.

results that we now have. But I mean, that it goes back to motive, right? because his his wife, Matthew Farwell's. wife, gave birth to their third child. the day after Sandra Burmore was. allegedly killed. So, I mean, that's a. witness I really am interested to see. >> And his wife is expected to testify, too, or is at least on the list. >> Correct. Yes. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. She's at least on the list. I. guess we don't know for sure if she'll. testify, but yeah, on the list. >> And we don't know anything about this, you know, the father of Sandra Burmore's. unborn child, like what her.

communications were with him uh leading. up to her death. Do we have any If we're. trying to talk about what the substance. of his testimony would be, do we have. any indication? >> At this point, it's still unclear to me. I feel like we will learn a lot more. because of course they'll have to. establish what sort of relationship they. had, when they would have had this. sexual encounter that could lead to the. conception of a baby. All of those. things at this point, I don't really. know. I mean, for a while, we all. thought that it was Matthew Farwell that. was the father of her unborn child. And.

now there have been some reports that it. wasn't. So, I think there's still a lot. of questions about what his testimony. will be, and I think that's why I'm. looking forward to that one to kind of. fill in the gaps, if you will. >> Look, I I laid it out what the. prosecution there there are theories of. the case, right, that he had to kill her. to keep her quiet. There does become. potential evidence here, forensic. material, DNA, surveillance footage, but. the defense, and it seems like a big. part of this is going to be the battle. of the experts to determine whether or. not she died by her own hand or not. But.

do you have a sense of how the defense. is also going to explain some of that. other evidence away, like the. surveillance footage of him allegedly. going to her place? Do you know how the. defense is planning to address that? >> I mean, that's tricky, right? because. investigators say that she died on. February 1st. And based on the. timestamps, Matthew Farwell can be seen. going into her apartment and then. leaving right around the last time that. her phone had any sort of activity. So, we're kind of pinpointing the era in. which she died around when he saw her.

So, that's really hard to combat because. we have the video surveillance, right? However, I feel like what the defense is. going to go forth and say is, and they. have in the past, that that day Matthew. Farwell was breaking up with Sandra. Burmore. who was ending their. relationship and that's what led her to. allegedly commit suicide. Matthew. Farwell had nothing to do with it except. for the fact that he's saying, "Okay, I'm sorry. I got to go. My wife is. giving birth soon. Like, I'm I'm done. with this relationship." They're going. to pinpoint it as a breakup and say. that's why she killed herself. And it's.

tricky because no one was in the. apartment with her that can testify as a. witness, you know, I saw XYZ happen. So, it's, as you said, a battle of the. experts. And I think they're just going. to say it was a breakup that led to her. allegedly dying by suicide. >> You know, in the days leading up to. this, um the prosecution said they found. all this allegedly incriminating. evidence on um uh Matthew Farwell's. phone kind of went through before, you. know, some of the apparent text. messages, the conversations, but also I.

guess this is apparent or potential. interest that he had in choking and rape. fantasies. I don't know if that's going. to play a role in this trial, but I was. wondering. I'm like, what exactly what. digital evidence do you think they. found? Like, what evidence do you think. they're going to present? I also know. there was a question about material on. uh Sandra Burmore's laptop. When we talk. about digital evidence, do you have an. idea of what we should expect here? >> Well, I know for sure based on reading. the affidavit myself that there's a. whole host of texts between Matthew.

Farwell and Sandra Burmore establishing. their relationship. This is something. that I think prosecutors are going to. use to paint the story to say he was. grooming her from day one when she was a. child. And you can look at the texts, Jesse. I mean, some of them are pretty. graphic texts, I would even say, talking. about her losing her virginity to him. when she was only 15 years old. I mean, some pretty intense things. And that's. just a taste. That's from the affidavit. So, they're going to have way more that. we have yet to see. So, I think text. messages are a big thing. And so, too. will be internet search history. I mean,

I don't know, to your point how much. we're going to hear about rape fantasies. or strangulation, but if those were. searches that Matthew Farwell made and. especially the timeline in relation to. when Sandra died, I think that will be. really important. And in a lot of cases. these days, we see the texts, the. searches, the um surveillance video. So, all of the digital evidence, I think. here will also play a pretty big role. >> One other point I want to get into is. the defense is going to be arguing that. this was a case of suicide, seemingly. pointing to her um alleged history of. mental health issues or self harm. Can.

you speak about that? Do we know what. they're going to present? >> Again, I don't have her medical records. or anything like that, but I think that. they would focus on that. The fact that. in the past she maybe had some diagnosis. or whether she had gone to a therapist. or not. If that's the case, I bet that. they will bring that forward. However, I. think on the other other side of things, it's really strong to indicate that. Sandra Burmore didn't want to commit. suicide. And again, we know most of our. information from the prosecution. But.

what I think really stood out to me is. the fact that she had a maternity photo. shoot set up. She was seemingly, according to her friends and family, really excited to be a mom. She had her. uh clothes in the washer, you know, that. they were left behind. Why would you. wash your clothes if you're then. planning to die by suicide? So, I think. that's kind of what they're going to. focus on. She never in, you know, after. being pregnant had any sort of suicidal. ideations. But the defense, if they can. dig something up, of course, they would. want to focus on that. And this trial is. expected to last a a while, right? Several weeks.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Several weeks. Again, we never really know what exactly is. going to happen, whether one witness. suddenly can't make it or, you know, they testimony was quicker than we. thought, but I think it's around 20 days. is kind of what we're estimating. So, kind of a lengthy trial. >> I mentioned this before, the death. penalty at one point was being. considered in this case. I mean, yeah, the fact that this is a federal case, that's where things get different. because I know stateto state or in. Massachusetts here, the Commonwealth, it.

kind of depends on what the laws are. there. But because this is a federal. crime, death penalty could have been on. the table in this. And I mean, I think. that just really speaks to the. seriousness, the severity of the. allegations here. I mean, anything that. we cover here on Law and Crime is. severe. It's it's kind of the worst of. the worst. But I think the fact that. there's an alleged cover up here, there's alleged grooming, alleged sexual. assault. I mean, there's so many things. that go into this case, and I think. maybe that's why perhaps death penalty. had been on the table. >> This is going to be a challenging case.

This is going to be an interesting case. because I it can sometimes be tricky for. prosecutors to convince a jury that a. former member of law enforcement. committed a murder. And I'm not talking. an officer involved shooting, a case of. whether it was acting in self-defense or. not. This is being presented as a. coldblooded planned murder. So, I'm very. curious to see who is selected for this. jury. Uh, not an easy case to be a part. of, and I think it's going to be a. difficult one, particularly, I think,

Sierra, when you think about it. I. mentioned it before, how much of this is. going to be looking at the body a and. looking at the condition of the body and. the battle of experts. And Dr. Michael. Boden is expected to testify, right? >> Yeah. Yes. And actually, he's a huge. part in this case. I'm sure that anybody. who watches Sidebar knows the name Dr. Michael Boden. He's very wellrenowned. And initially, when this was ruled a. suicide, Sandra Burmore's family said, "We don't think so." So, they retained. Dr. Michael Boden, and he's the one who. went in with a closer look and said,

"Ah, this doesn't look like a suicide to. me. This looks like that hyoid bone and. the fracture there looks more like. strangulation." And that kind of was the. pipeline into charges here. So, he is. going to be another expert witness I'll. be really excited to hear from. >> Well, Sierra, before we go, let. everybody know what your ability is to. see what's happening in the court cuz. like that's a little complicated, right? Like it's a federal courthouse. Obviously, there's no cameras. It's the. jury selection process, but um you may. have a front row seat to what is going.

on there, right? >> Yeah. If we go back to P. diddy. You. know, if any of our viewers remember. there federal cases, you aren't allowed. to have cameras. You're not allowed to. take still photos or live streams. So, it won't be what we usually see. That's. when we're going to kind of have a. sketch artist to paint the photo of or. the portrait rather of exactly what's. going on there. As for reporters, I'll. be allowed inside the courtroom, but I. can't have my phone. I can't have my. laptop. I can't be tweeting or anything. like that. It will be back to the old. days of a pen and paper, writing.

everything down, and then coming back. and reporting on all of it after. However, reporters are allowed in the. courtroom. It's just not what we usually. see here on Lawn Crime. >> And we'll see uh because there's. probably going to be a lot of interest, a lot of people showing up uh whether or. not there has to be use of an overflow. room. So, we shall see. But listen, you're our eyes and ears. Thank you so. much, Sierra, for jumping on to talk. about this and we're going to see where. the Matthew Farwell trial goes. Appreciate it as always. >> Yeah, thanks Jesse. >> That's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so.

much for joining us. Please like and. subscribe. I'm Jesse Weber. Speak to you. next time.