Day 10 Recap - U.S. v. Matthew Farwell: The Sandra Birchmore Trial

Defense Diaries is covering the federal trial of Matthew Farwell, the former Stoughton police detective charged with killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore and causing the death of her unborn child. Prosecutors say Farwell began grooming Birchmore at 15 after meeting her through the Stoughton Police Explorers program, then strangled her in her Canton apartment in February 2021 and staged the scene to look like a suicide. The defense says he had an affair he regrets, but he did not kill her. Every night of trial, Bob and Ali Motta break down the day's testimony from a trial attorney perspective: what the government proved, where the cross-examination landed, and what it all means for the jury. Our recaps draw on the courtroom reporting of Grant Smith-Ellis, who is live tweeting from the Moakley Courthouse in Boston every day. No cameras are allowed in federal court, so this is as close to the room as you can get. Today's episode: Today we reenact Trial Day 10 with Grant's live tweets/partial transcript. #MatthewFarwell #SandraBirchmore #FarwellTrial #BirchmoreTrial #StoughtonPolice #truecrimepodcast #truecrimecommunity #CourtroomRecap #trialcoverage 00:00:00 - Intro: Day 10 Recap (USA v Farwell) 00:01:00 - Welcome & Storytime: Game night 00:15:30 - Pre-Court & Schedule: Closings *Nov 5 00:17:35 - Jury is in 00:18:40 - Direct Examination: Lindsey Creen 00:31:32 - Texts: Regrets & Birth Certificate 00:48:40 - Cross-Examination 01:07:50 - Redirect 01:09:25 - Break: NC v Salguero-Olivares Verdict 01:16:25 - Guilty all counts 01:20:00 - Redirect Resumes 01:25:00 - Recross & Jury Instruction 01:27:50 - Direct Examination: Dr. Diala Alkhalil, LMHC 02:07:00 - Warning from Mom 02:14:40 - Cross-Examination 02:17:50 - Testimonies Conclude & Next Week's Preview 02:20:00 - Reciprocal Discovery & Rule 412 02:22:20 - Super Chats & Faith's Verdict 02:24:30 - Thanks & Support Grant 02:28:30 - Outro