Case Timeline
A selected chronology of established dates that may help readers place testimony, records, and investigative steps in context. This timeline is intentionally not exhaustive.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| December 28, 2020 | Birchmore reported learning that she was pregnant. | October 19 — Special Agent Heidi Kelsch testimony |
| December 29, 2020 | Birchmore and Farwell met. Messages introduced at trial later that day described Birchmore as shaking and scared after the encounter. | October 19 — Special Agent Heidi Kelsch testimony |
| January 20, 2021 | A friend of Birchmore called the Stoughton Police Department about Birchmore and Matthew Farwell. Dispatcher James Fitton later testified that he relayed the call to Farwell. | October 20 — James Fitton testimony |
| February 1, 2021 · 9:13:47 PM | Birchmore’s iPhone locked for the final time before it was later accessed while in law-enforcement custody. | October 19 — Special Agent Heidi Kelsch testimony |
| February 1, 2021 · 9:14 PM | Apartment surveillance showed Farwell entering Birchmore’s apartment building. | October 19 — Special Agent Heidi Kelsch testimony |
| February 1, 2021 · 9:40 PM | Birchmore’s iPhone activity sensor recorded eight steps, identified in testimony as the phone’s final recorded movement. | October 19 — Special Agent Heidi Kelsch testimony · November 4 — Daniel Loper testimony |
| February 1, 2021 · 9:44:36 PM | Corrected apartment-surveillance timing showed Farwell leaving Birchmore’s apartment building. | October 19 — Special Agent Heidi Kelsch testimony |
| February 4, 2021 | Canton Police conducted a welfare check at Birchmore’s apartment and found her deceased. | October 13 — Officer Ensley Cotard testimony |
| February 5, 2021 | Dr. María del Mar Capó Martínez performed Birchmore’s autopsy. | October 26 — Dr. Capó Martínez testimony |
| February 6, 2021 | Massachusetts State Police interviewed Matthew Farwell as part of the investigation into Birchmore’s death. | October 14 — Trooper Matthew Dunne testimony |
| February 9, 2021 | Farwell consented to a data extraction of his personal iPhone. | October 15 — Nicholas Guarino testimony |
| February 9, 2021 | Investigators retrieved Birchmore’s Apple laptop for data collection and preservation. | October 15 — Nicholas Guarino testimony · November 4 — Daniel Loper testimony (extraction limitations) |
| February 26, 2021 | At police request, Dr. Capó Martínez performed a sexual-assault evidence collection kit. | October 26 — Dr. Capó Martínez testimony · November 3 — Nourredine cross-examination |
| April 26, 2021 | Stoughton Police delivered Farwell’s department-issued iPhone to Norfolk County investigators, where it was logged as evidence. | October 16 — Brian Holmes testimony |
| May 6, 2021 | Dr. Capó Martínez signed the final OCME report listing the cause of death as asphyxia by hanging and the manner of death as suicide. | October 26 — Dr. Capó Martínez testimony |
| May 21, 2021 | Birchmore’s death certificate formally recorded the cause of death as asphyxia by hanging and the manner of death as suicide. | Death certificate / Norfolk DA records |
| August 29, 2022 | Stoughton Police concluded its internal-affairs investigation and released a redacted report concerning Matthew Farwell, William Farwell, and Robert Devine. | October 16 — Brian Holmes testimony / Stoughton IA report |
| August 16, 2024 | Federal investigators and Dr. William Smock met with Massachusetts State Police and the OCME during the later review of Birchmore’s death. | October 26 — OCME-related testimony and exhibit discussion |
| August 28, 2024 | A federal grand jury indicted Matthew Farwell on one count of killing a witness or victim. Farwell was arrested the same day and made his initial federal court appearance. | U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts |
| October 28, 2025 | A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment adding a count alleging that Farwell caused the death of Birchmore’s unborn child. | U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts |
| April 30, 2026 | The OCME amended Birchmore’s death certificate. The cause of death was changed to asphyxia and the manner of death to undetermined. | October 26 — Dr. Capó Martínez testimony |
Source note: Entries are drawn from testimony and records reflected in the Grant Smith Ellis court-reporting archive, with official federal sources used for the August 28, 2024 and October 28, 2025 charging events. Inclusion is for chronological orientation only and does not characterize the importance, credibility, or weight of an event or item of evidence. Events sharing a date are listed separately; proximity in the table should not be read as establishing a connection or causal relationship. Times are included only where testimony placed multiple events within a narrow time window and the time materially aids orientation.