The prosecution has rested its case in the trial of Matthew Farwell after jurors heard from 38 government witnesses. The defense called its first witness Wednesday.
The prosecution’s final witness, digital forensic expert Jessica Hyde, walked jurors through data from Sandra Birchmore’s iPhone and Apple Watch and synchronized it with surveillance video from her Canton apartment building.
Her analysis laid out a timeline of activity on the night of February 1, 2021.
The Matthew Farwell trial is now in the hands of the defense.
Farwell is a former Stoughton police
officer accused of killing a pregnant woman
and then staging her death to look like a suicide.
Boston 25 News reporter Ryan Breslin on scene at the federal courthouse
where the attorneys for the prosecution have rested their case.
Jurors have a lot to consider from the prosecution's witnesses,
38 of them testifying,
with the last being a key digital forensic expert.
Jessica Hyde taking the stand.
She looked at Sandra Birchmore's iPhone 12 and Apple Watch data.
She also synced it up with the surveillance video
from Birchmore's Canton apartment.
In that video, you can see Matthew Farwell walk
in with a mask on and then leave the apartment later on.
Hyde says the surveillance footage was 13 minutes ahead of real time,
and so that was adjusted for jurors.
Here's the timeline that she laid out.
Jessica Hyde says Sandra Birchmore's phone
was last locked at 9.13 p.m. on February 1st, 2021.
Prosecutors say Matthew Farwell entered Birchmore's
apartment building a minute later at 9.14.
The last steps on Birchmore's iPhone
were recorded at 9.40 and 22 seconds.
22 seconds after that, the power button was pressed for the last time.
Three minutes later, at 9.43.32,
Matthew Farwell is seen leaving the building.
Hyde also looking at the internet searches Birchmore made on her phone.
There was a cached image from Facebook of a purple ribbon.
Hyde says after that image was seen on Facebook, the searches purple
ribbon meaning and what color is the suicide ribbon were made.
Remember, the defense contends that Birchmore died by suicide
after Farwell went to her apartment to end their relationship.
The case is now in the hands of the defense.
They've already brought their first witness to the stand,
and their case is expected to last about a week.
So far, they said they are not making any predictions on whether
or not Matthew Farwell will testify.
On scene in Boston, Ryan Breslin
for your local station, Boston 25 News.
No cameras are allowed inside federal court,
but our Ryan Breslin is posting live updates on the testimony.
As it happens, you can follow along on our website, boston25news.com.
