Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary

A federal judge has denied former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell's motion to dismiss the charges against him in the death of Sandra Birchmore — and the October 2026 trial is locked in.
Sandra Birchmore was 23 years old and three months pregnant when she was found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts apartment in February 2021. For years, her death was officially ruled self-inflicted. No charges. No trial. Just a closed file and a grieving family left with nothing but questions.
What investigators and prosecutors later uncovered is one of the most disturbing law enforcement abuse cases in recent memory. Farwell, a former Stoughton police officer, allegedly began a criminal sexual relationship with Birchmore in 2013 — when she was just 15 years old and he was a 26-year-old volunteer in the department's youth Explorer Program. That alleged exploitation continued for nearly a decade, reportedly including meetings for sex while Farwell was on active duty — hours he allegedly logged as legitimate police work.
He wasn't alone. Former Stoughton Deputy Chief Robert Devine — who oversaw the same Explorer Program Sandra joined at age 12 — has since been decertified by the state's Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission. Farwell's twin brother William also lost his law enforcement certification in Massachusetts.
Federal prosecutors allege Farwell learned that Sandra's friend had called the station to report the relationship just days before her death — and that the information was passed to him internally. He was the last known person to see her alive. Surveillance footage puts him entering and exiting her apartment building that night.
His defense called the federal indictment defective. The judge called it legally sound. The case moves to trial.
This is the full story — from the Explorer Program to the courtroom.
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The Kouri Richins murder trial is built on a stack of evidence that includes text messages, cell tower data, fentanyl receipts, and two witnesses who changed their stories after receiving immunity. Hidden Killers examines the evidentiary architecture of this case in a listener Q&A with former FBI behavioral analyst Robin Dreeke and host Tony Brueski.
The escalation detail is one of the most significant in this case. According to prosecutors, after an alleged first attempt failed, Kouri Richins allegedly sought out a more lethal method — specifically requesting what has been described as "the Michael Jackson drug." Investigators and prosecutors frame that escalation as evidence of specific intent and deliberate planning. Robin Dreeke examines what that behavioral sequence communicates and what it means for the evidentiary picture.
The immunity witness problem deserves scrutiny. Carmen Lauber and Robert Crozier both revised their accounts under prosecutorial pressure. Both received deals. From an evidentiary standpoint, what does that do to witness credibility — and how does a defense team exploit the fact that the prosecution's key witnesses needed legal protection to testify?
There's also the text message that prosecutors centered a significant portion of their case around: Kouri allegedly messaged Josh Grossman that she felt "relieved" after Eric died. Robin and Tony examine what the evidentiary weight of a single-word text actually is — and what a jury is being asked to infer from it.
Eric's own awareness — his suspicions, the private investigator his sister hired, his meeting with a divorce attorney — raises a question about what, if anything, the system could have done differently.
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The defense in the Kouri Richins murder trial has built its case around one central argument: Eric Richins had a history of substance use, and his death was a tragic accident. On the tenth day of testimony, a private investigator hired by Eric's own family took the stand and systematically dismantled that theory from every angle.
Todd Gabler spent roughly a year investigating Eric's death independently before Kouri was arrested. Operating under rules that gave him access law enforcement couldn't get without a warrant, he pulled phone billing records and found that Carmen Lauber — the housekeeper prosecutors say sourced the fentanyl — was Kouri's third most frequent contact in the months surrounding Eric's death. He flagged Lauber's criminal history and drug court violations to the Sheriff's Office before detectives had identified her as a key figure. He placed GPS trackers on Kouri's car and her mother's vehicle. He conducted nearly 50 interviews. He handed over two hard drives of evidence. And when the defense asked whether other fentanyl sources in Summit County could explain Eric's death, Gabler said he looked into it and found no connection to this case.
The defense noted he is not law enforcement. He agreed. He also made clear he doesn't need to be.
That testimony came on a day when the jury also watched video of Kouri celebrating the day after Eric died, heard a forensic examiner say Eric's signature on a life insurance application was likely forged, listened to the full 911 call in which Kouri describes her husband as cold and dead weight, and heard a detective testify that Eric's sister flagged Kouri's potential involvement from the moment she arrived at the scene.
The prosecution is nearly done. One witness remains.
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The evidentiary details in the Nancy Guthrie case are accumulating — and several of them aren't getting the scrutiny they deserve. Hidden Killers digs into the evidence layer with former FBI behavioral analyst Robin Dreeke and host Tony Brueski in this listener Q&A focused on what the physical and forensic record actually tells us.
The pacemaker. Nancy's device last synced at 2:28 in the morning. In a case where the timeline of events that night is still not publicly established with precision, that data point is significant. Tony and Robin examine what a pacemaker sync can and cannot tell investigators — and why this detail isn't getting more airtime.
The DNA at the scene has been characterized as a mixture — potentially from multiple contributors. That's not a minor detail. A mixed DNA profile opens the possibility that more than one person was present, which fundamentally alters the behavioral question of how this secret has been kept. Robin addresses what the psychological and behavioral profile looks like when two or more people share culpability in something like this — and which of those scenarios is more likely to crack under pressure.
A million-dollar reward has been announced, payable in cash. From an investigative standpoint, does that generate actionable intelligence — or primarily volume? Tony and Robin address what large reward escalations have historically meant for tip quality and case trajectory.
And if no remains have been located after this much time in a case with this evidence profile — what does that mean for investigators, for the family, and for the likelihood that Nancy is still alive?
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The details in the Nancy Guthrie case that aren't getting enough attention are precisely the ones that matter most to understanding what happened and who's responsible. Hidden Killers brings you a deep-dive listener Q&A with former FBI behavioral analyst Robin Dreeke and host Tony Brueski — going beyond the press conference talking points and into the evidence.
The night Nancy vanished, the internet in her neighborhood went out. Was that a coincidence? Was it targeted? And if someone cut it deliberately, what does that level of pre-operational planning tell investigators about who they're looking for? Robin Dreeke walks through what that detail means from a behavioral profiling standpoint.
There's also the question of escalation — the moment this became a kidnapping instead of a burglary. That decision happened in real time, in someone's head, under pressure. Robin breaks down the psychological framework of that choice: what drives it, what it reveals about criminal sophistication, and what it tells us about the ongoing danger to Nancy.
The FBI returned to Nancy's neighborhood and knocked on doors again — a full month after the initial canvass. Investigators don't do that without a reason. Tony and Robin analyze what a second-round canvass signals about where the investigation stands and what information may have shifted.
And then there's the psychological weight of the perpetrator's silence. Someone in this person's life almost certainly suspects something. Robin explains what's keeping that person quiet — and what would have to change for them to come forward.
This is the investigative conversation the case deserves.
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