Welcome to Crimetown, a series produced by Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier in partnership with Gimlet Media. Each season, we investigate the culture of crime in a different city. In Season 2, Crimetown heads to the heart of the Rust Belt: Detroit, Michigan. From its heyday as Motor City to its rebirth as the Brooklyn of the Midwest, Detroit’s history reflects a series of issues that strike at the heart of American identity: race, poverty, policing, loss of industry, the war on drugs, an ...
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Predators in Uniform – Ret. FBI Robin Dreeke Breaks Down the Sandra Birchmore Case
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Manage episode 492461873 series 2648298
Content provided by Tony Brueski and Real Story Media. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Tony Brueski and Real Story Media or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
Predators in Uniform – Ret. FBI Robin Dreeke Breaks Down the Sandra Birchmore Case
Description:
Sandra Birchmore was 23, pregnant, and alone when she was found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts apartment in 2021. Her death was ruled a suicide. That might have been the end of it—until federal investigators got involved. What they uncovered changed everything.
Prosecutors now say Sandra was groomed and exploited for years by Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell—who met her when she was just 13 through the department’s Explorer Program. Farwell is now federally indicted for her murder. But this case isn’t just about one man. It’s about a culture that allowed a predator to operate in plain sight, inside a structured, youth-focused law enforcement program, with little oversight and no accountability.
In this episode, retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke—former Chief of the Bureau’s Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program—joins us to break down exactly how predators like Farwell use the uniform as camouflage. He explains how authority figures manipulate young victims, how predators test boundaries through secrecy and personalization, and how organizations with rigid hierarchy and internal loyalty often become enablers without realizing it.
We talk about Sandra’s need for structure, the illusion of safety the Explorer program promised, and how that trust was twisted into a years-long pattern of abuse, isolation, and control. Robin also explores why no one intervened, how grooming often hides behind “mentorship,” and why even well-meaning departments fail to see the warning signs—until it's too late.
This is the story of one victim. But it's also a warning for every community. Because when predators wear badges, the danger isn’t just what they do—it’s who helps them get away with it.
#SandraBirchmore #RobinDreeke #PredatorsInUniform #LawEnforcementAbuse #ExplorerProgram #FBIBehavioralAnalysis #HiddenKillersPodcast #TonyBrueski #TrueCrimePodcast #InstitutionalFailure
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Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod
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Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
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Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
Description:
Sandra Birchmore was 23, pregnant, and alone when she was found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts apartment in 2021. Her death was ruled a suicide. That might have been the end of it—until federal investigators got involved. What they uncovered changed everything.
Prosecutors now say Sandra was groomed and exploited for years by Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell—who met her when she was just 13 through the department’s Explorer Program. Farwell is now federally indicted for her murder. But this case isn’t just about one man. It’s about a culture that allowed a predator to operate in plain sight, inside a structured, youth-focused law enforcement program, with little oversight and no accountability.
In this episode, retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke—former Chief of the Bureau’s Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program—joins us to break down exactly how predators like Farwell use the uniform as camouflage. He explains how authority figures manipulate young victims, how predators test boundaries through secrecy and personalization, and how organizations with rigid hierarchy and internal loyalty often become enablers without realizing it.
We talk about Sandra’s need for structure, the illusion of safety the Explorer program promised, and how that trust was twisted into a years-long pattern of abuse, isolation, and control. Robin also explores why no one intervened, how grooming often hides behind “mentorship,” and why even well-meaning departments fail to see the warning signs—until it's too late.
This is the story of one victim. But it's also a warning for every community. Because when predators wear badges, the danger isn’t just what they do—it’s who helps them get away with it.
#SandraBirchmore #RobinDreeke #PredatorsInUniform #LawEnforcementAbuse #ExplorerProgram #FBIBehavioralAnalysis #HiddenKillersPodcast #TonyBrueski #TrueCrimePodcast #InstitutionalFailure
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?
Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod
Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
10464 episodes
MP3•Episode home
Manage episode 492461873 series 2648298
Content provided by Tony Brueski and Real Story Media. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Tony Brueski and Real Story Media or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
Predators in Uniform – Ret. FBI Robin Dreeke Breaks Down the Sandra Birchmore Case
Description:
Sandra Birchmore was 23, pregnant, and alone when she was found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts apartment in 2021. Her death was ruled a suicide. That might have been the end of it—until federal investigators got involved. What they uncovered changed everything.
Prosecutors now say Sandra was groomed and exploited for years by Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell—who met her when she was just 13 through the department’s Explorer Program. Farwell is now federally indicted for her murder. But this case isn’t just about one man. It’s about a culture that allowed a predator to operate in plain sight, inside a structured, youth-focused law enforcement program, with little oversight and no accountability.
In this episode, retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke—former Chief of the Bureau’s Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program—joins us to break down exactly how predators like Farwell use the uniform as camouflage. He explains how authority figures manipulate young victims, how predators test boundaries through secrecy and personalization, and how organizations with rigid hierarchy and internal loyalty often become enablers without realizing it.
We talk about Sandra’s need for structure, the illusion of safety the Explorer program promised, and how that trust was twisted into a years-long pattern of abuse, isolation, and control. Robin also explores why no one intervened, how grooming often hides behind “mentorship,” and why even well-meaning departments fail to see the warning signs—until it's too late.
This is the story of one victim. But it's also a warning for every community. Because when predators wear badges, the danger isn’t just what they do—it’s who helps them get away with it.
#SandraBirchmore #RobinDreeke #PredatorsInUniform #LawEnforcementAbuse #ExplorerProgram #FBIBehavioralAnalysis #HiddenKillersPodcast #TonyBrueski #TrueCrimePodcast #InstitutionalFailure
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?
Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod
Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
Description:
Sandra Birchmore was 23, pregnant, and alone when she was found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts apartment in 2021. Her death was ruled a suicide. That might have been the end of it—until federal investigators got involved. What they uncovered changed everything.
Prosecutors now say Sandra was groomed and exploited for years by Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell—who met her when she was just 13 through the department’s Explorer Program. Farwell is now federally indicted for her murder. But this case isn’t just about one man. It’s about a culture that allowed a predator to operate in plain sight, inside a structured, youth-focused law enforcement program, with little oversight and no accountability.
In this episode, retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke—former Chief of the Bureau’s Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program—joins us to break down exactly how predators like Farwell use the uniform as camouflage. He explains how authority figures manipulate young victims, how predators test boundaries through secrecy and personalization, and how organizations with rigid hierarchy and internal loyalty often become enablers without realizing it.
We talk about Sandra’s need for structure, the illusion of safety the Explorer program promised, and how that trust was twisted into a years-long pattern of abuse, isolation, and control. Robin also explores why no one intervened, how grooming often hides behind “mentorship,” and why even well-meaning departments fail to see the warning signs—until it's too late.
This is the story of one victim. But it's also a warning for every community. Because when predators wear badges, the danger isn’t just what they do—it’s who helps them get away with it.
#SandraBirchmore #RobinDreeke #PredatorsInUniform #LawEnforcementAbuse #ExplorerProgram #FBIBehavioralAnalysis #HiddenKillersPodcast #TonyBrueski #TrueCrimePodcast #InstitutionalFailure
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?
Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod
Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
10464 episodes
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