Overview
- Matthew Farwell asked a Boston federal judge on Tuesday to release him on $50,000 bail after being jailed since his August 2024 arrest.
- Prosecutors urged detention, saying new iPhone records show he watched porn labeled as teen content after Sandra Birchmore’s death, though the defense says the videos are legal adult material.
- They also cited DNA testing that identified Farwell as the major contributor on a duffel strap investigators say was used as a ligature, with his DNA also detected in her underwear.
- Defense lawyers countered that the state medical examiner deemed Birchmore’s death a suicide and argued the strap and underwear contained complex DNA mixtures from several people.
- A sealed suppression hearing is set for May 26 ahead of an October trial, and the Justice Department has already decided not to seek the death penalty.