The government rested its case against Matthew Farwell on Wednesday with a digital forensics expert who told jurors Sandra Birchmore’s phone recorded its last movement at 9:40 p.m. on February 1, 2021, about three minutes before surveillance video shows Farwell leaving her Canton apartment building. “Your honor, the government rests,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Fogarty told the judge, WCVB reported. The defense opened within hours with a witness who said Birchmore told him in 2017 that she had attempted suicide, and on Thursday it called her former boyfriend and two people from the medical examiner’s office.
Wednesday, October 28, and Thursday, October 29, 2026, were the twelfth and thirteenth days of testimony in United States v. Farwell in federal court in Boston. Wednesday was reported by 7News (WHDH), WCVB, Boston 25 News and Boston.com; Thursday’s testimony is from NBC10 Boston’s courtroom coverage. Farwell, a former Stoughton detective, is charged with killing Birchmore and her unborn child to keep her from exposing their sexual relationship, which prosecutors say began when she was 15 and in the department’s Explorers program. He has pleaded not guilty. His defense says Birchmore died by suicide after he ended their relationship.
The prosecution’s last witness: the phone timeline
FBI digital forensics expert Jessica Hyde matched data from Birchmore’s iPhone and Apple Watch to the building’s surveillance video, which she said ran 13 minutes off the actual time and was adjusted for the jury, according to WCVB and Boston 25. The timeline, as reported by 7News and Boston 25:
- 9:07 p.m. Farwell texted asking to come over. Birchmore replied that the door would be open, 7News reported.
- 9:13 p.m. Her phone locked. A text to Farwell was the last item displayed on the screen, WCVB reported.
- 9:14 p.m. Video prosecutors say shows a masked Farwell entering the building, 7News reported.
- About 9:18 p.m. Someone tried to open the camera from the lock screen; no picture or video was taken, Hyde testified, according to 7News.
- 9:40 p.m. The phone’s last recorded steps, eight of them, followed seconds later by the final press of the power button. Boston 25 put the last steps at 9:40:22 p.m.
- 9:43:32 p.m. Surveillance video shows Farwell leaving the building, Boston 25 reported.
Hyde testified that the battery then drained slowly, consistent with a phone no one was using, WCVB reported. Birchmore was found three days later.
The defense opens
- A 2017 report. The first defense witness was a Massasoit Community College administrator who supervised Birchmore when she worked as a peer tutor in 2017. He testified that she told him that year she had attempted to kill herself during an argument with her mother, and he wrote a report about it, according to 7News and WCVB. On cross-examination, prosecutors pointed out that was four years before her death, 7News reported.
- A motion for acquittal. The defense also filed a motion asking the judge to acquit Farwell “because the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction,” WCVB reported. No ruling on it has been reported.
Thursday: the ex-boyfriend and the medical examiner’s office
Thursday’s session ended around 10:45 a.m., NBC10 reported. All of the following is from NBC10’s coverage.
- The former boyfriend. A man who dated Birchmore from 2016 to 2018 testified for the defense that she once said she would list him as one of the reasons she was going to kill herself, around the end of 2017. On cross-examination by the prosecution, he said she never tried to kill herself while he knew her, that he was never concerned she would, and that he never had to stop her. He said she struggled with depression around the deaths of her mother and grandmother but “got a therapist and was getting through it,” and called her “strong and a fighter” who “always pulled through.”
- The chief medical examiner. The defense asked the state’s chief medical examiner whether she agreed with the original autopsy ruling of suicide and the later decision. Prosecutors objected, the judge sustained the objection, and she did not answer.
- The chain under the ligature. A medical examiner’s office assistant who transported the body testified that her team takes no photographs at a scene and collects only items on the body. Asked by the prosecution about a pendant and broken chain, she said she did not see them. On redirect, she acknowledged that a photo appears to show a chain under the ligature.
The law: acquittal before the jury decides
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29(a) says that after the government closes its evidence, “the court on the defendant’s motion must enter a judgment of acquittal of any offense for which the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction.” Under Rule 29(b) the judge may reserve decision, let the trial continue, and rule before or after the verdict. These motions are routine at this point in a federal trial, and judges often reserve ruling.
What’s next
Friday is a half day, ending at 1 p.m., NBC10 reported. The defense has said it has about a week of witnesses, so closing arguments could come as early as next week. Farwell’s lawyers have not decided whether he will testify; that decision is his, Boston 25 reported. Follow every day of the trial on our tracker.
Frequently asked questions
Has the prosecution rested in the Matthew Farwell trial?
Yes. The government rested on October 28, 2026, after digital forensics expert Jessica Hyde testified about Sandra Birchmore’s phone data. The defense began its case the same day.
Will Matthew Farwell testify?
Not decided. His lawyers have said the decision is his and has not been made, Boston 25 reported.
When will the Farwell jury get the case?
The defense has said it has about a week of witnesses, so closing arguments could come as early as the week of November 2, 2026.
Sources: 7News (WHDH), WCVB, Boston 25 News and Boston.com, October 28 and 29, 2026; NBC10 Boston live coverage, October 29, 2026. Fed. R. Crim. P. 29 read at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. Farwell is presumed innocent. General information, not legal advice.