Pre-trial filings in the Matthew Farwell trial suggest that, as with the Karen Read case, the initial investigation into Sandra Birchmore's death was sloppy before a more thorough probe from federal investigators. 2021, and then, this April, updated the woman's death certificate to say the manner of her death was no longer suicide but undetermined. Birchmore started engaging with attorneys a month before her death, prosecutors said. But Farwell's team says that allowing those disputes into the murder trial could confuse the jury or prejudice it against him by creating a trial within a trial. They also noted that none of the investigators involved in the Birchmore case were involved in Read's, including the medical examiner.