Barstool True Crime Podcast Leads to Murder Arrest

Kirk Minihane hosted two seasons of a true crime podcast series for Barstool Sports, and after both seasons, murder charges have now been filed against suspects.

On Wednesday morning, the FBI announced that a Boston SWAT team arrested former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell in the suspected murder of Sandra Birchmore, whose death in Canton, Massachusetts, in 2021 was initially ruled a suicide. Birchmore was three months pregnant at the time of her death and had recently told Farwell that she believed he was the father.

#BREAK: #FBI Boston's SWAT team has arrested former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell for the suspected murder of Sandra Birchmore. We arrested him without incident. Details to follow at a press conference at 1:45 p.m. with @DMAnews1 in federal court in Boston.

— FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) 28 August 2024

In 2022, Minihane launched The Case, Season 2: Sandrawhich investigated Birchmore's death. Although Minihane is not credited with pushing the case that now led to Farwell's arrest, his podcast undoubtedly helped debunk the original police narrative that claimed Birchmore committed suicide. According to the indictment filed by federal authorities in U.S. District Court this week, Farwell killed Birchmore, who was pregnant, in 2021. The indictment also states Farwell is the child's father.

“On or about February 1, 2021, FARWELL killed Birchmore by strangulation,” the indictment states. “Shortly thereafter, FARWELL staged Birchmore's Canton, Massachusetts apartment to make it appear as if Birchmore had committed suicide.”

While The Case Season 2 The finale will air in January 2023. Minihane called the series a “noble failure,” citing the hurdles in pursuing justice for Birchmore and the challenge of getting people to talk about an incident that happened so recently. The first season of The case began investigating the death of Jennifer Lynn Fay, who disappeared in February 1989. Decades later, people with Fay's contact were more willing to talk than the people questioned about Birchmore.

“We just didn't achieve what we wanted to achieve,” said Minihane. “Which we finally achieved in Season 1.”

Almost 20 months later, Minihane should now be able to look back and say The Case Season 2 finally accomplished what it set out to do. It told Birchmore's story and highlighted the fact that her death was not a suicide. It was also Minihane's second true crime podcast that followed an indictment of a suspect for murder.

In The Case Season 1Minihane believed Kevin Maler was a central figure in Fay's disappearance. Minihane later discovered that Maler may have been a key figure in the deaths of several other people, including Kevin Craig of South Carolina. The Case Season 1Painter was eventually charged with Craig's murder and Minihane received credit from the local sheriff's department.

During the finale of the second season, Minihane stated that he had a third season of The case which was almost finished and was about to start work on the fourth season. Neither season has been released yet.

[The Case, FBI Boston]