Start with the evidence state investigators actually had: a strap from Sandra Birchmore’s apartment, and male DNA recovered from it in 2021. Federal prosecutors say officers never obtained Matthew Farwell’s reference DNA to compare. The original investigation also included unrecorded interviews, including one with Farwell in a school parking lot. Meanwhile, the jury in Farwell’s federal trial heard his messages to Sandra read aloud by an FBI agent. Those exchanges concern contact that prosecutors say began while she was a teenager. The defense disputes the government’s account of her death and says she took her own life. Tony Brueski examines how those early investigative decisions intersect with what the messages put before jurors. Farwell has pleaded not guilty. For the prosecution, the question is why investigators treated the death as self-inflicted without first completing comparisons that might have clarified who handled the strap. For the defense, the absence of a contemporaneous comparison does not establish who caused Sandra’s death. The jury now has to evaluate the messages, the forensic evidence, and the investigative timeline without confusing an accusation with a verdict. Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Watch Robin Dreeke's MasterClass: http://masterclass.com/robindreeke Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #SandraBirchmore #MatthewFarwell #HiddenKillers #FarwellTrial #StoughtonPolice #TrueCrime #FederalTrial #DNAEvidence #BirchmoreCase #TrueCrimePodcast