“The Detective’s Wife”: 48 Hours Reports on Amy Fanion Homicide April 19 2025

On Saturday, April 19, 2025, CBS’s 48 Hours presents an encore of “The Detective’s Wife,” a harrowing examination of the 2018 death of Amy Fanion and the investigation that led to her husband, Brian Fanion—a respected Westfield police detective—being convicted of her murder. With exclusive interviews and critical forensic analysis, the episode explores a case that began with a 911 call and ended with a life sentence.

The Scene of the Crime and the First Doubts

On May 8, 2018, Brian Fanion called 911, claiming that his wife, Amy, had taken her own life during an argument over retirement plans. Responding officers arrived at their Westfield, Massachusetts, farmhouse to find Amy dead from a single gunshot wound to the head, near the dining room table set for lunch. Brian’s version of events included Amy picking up his service weapon while he was in the bathroom and firing the fatal shot before he could stop her.

Investigators were immediately skeptical. The bullet’s path, the spent casing in the dining room, and the recovered projectile in the breezeway pointed to an unusual shooting trajectory. Most troubling was the absence of gunshot residue or stippling on Amy’s skin, a forensic detail that typically indicates whether a gun was fired at close range. This absence suggested a shot fired from a greater distance than Brian claimed.

Forensics, Gunshot Residue, and a Critical Clue

Massachusetts State Police launched a full-scale investigation led by Detective Brendan O’Toole. The lack of stippling around the entry wound was a pivotal detail. In close-range gunshots, the expelled gases and debris leave visible residue and skin burns. That wasn’t the case here, raising immediate doubts about Brian’s version of events.

While the defense would later argue that Amy’s thick hair blocked the residue, no one initially tested it. This forensic gap became central to the defense strategy years later, but for investigators in 2018, it was one of several red flags. The trajectory of the bullet, combined with a lack of physical evidence supporting a self-inflicted wound, turned a suspected suicide into a homicide inquiry.

The Affair and Digital Trail of Deception

As detectives examined Brian Fanion’s phone and computer, they uncovered deleted text messages revealing an emotional affair with Cori Knowles, a fellow church member and missionary. The tone of their texts, exchanged both before and on the day of Amy’s death, painted a portrait of a man envisioning a future with someone else.

Knowles testified that their relationship had escalated beyond friendship, though not into a full physical affair. Investigators also discovered Brian had conducted online searches on topics such as household poisons, carbon monoxide, and gunshot residue. On April 27, less than two weeks before Amy’s death, he visited websites about gunshot residue testing—a detail not linked to any professional case he was handling.

Family Division and a Letter of Support

In a surprising turn, many members of Amy Fanion’s family initially sided with Brian. They submitted a letter to the district attorney asserting their belief that Amy had taken her own life. Her siblings and even her mother signed it, creating an unusual situation for the prosecution, which found itself without the support of the victim’s family.

However, Amy’s sister, Anna Hansen, eventually broke ranks and testified that Brian had told her he searched “how to make a murder look like a suicide,” a statement that prosecutors emphasized despite no direct digital evidence of such a search. Hansen’s testimony added crucial weight to the prosecution’s narrative of a premeditated killing.

The Trial and Competing Narratives

Brian Fanion’s trial began in February 2023. The prosecution argued that the affair, combined with fears of losing pension benefits in a divorce, motivated Fanion to murder his wife. Forensic experts testified that the trajectory of the bullet and absence of residue were inconsistent with a self-inflicted wound. A cybercrime investigator testified about Brian’s search history, and the prosecution highlighted his attempts to delete contacts and conceal the affair.

The defense countered by portraying Amy as emotionally volatile and suggested her temper and anxiety could have led her to impulsively end her life. They relied heavily on testimony from crime scene analyst Alexander Jason, who demonstrated how thick hair could block gunshot residue, thereby challenging the state’s primary forensic evidence.

The Verdict and Aftermath

On March 21, 2023, the jury found Brian Fanion guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The verdict came after weeks of testimony, 40 witnesses, and extensive forensic analysis. For prosecutor Mary Sandstrom, the conviction underscored a case driven by careful planning and betrayal, masked under the image of a devout family man.

Despite the conviction, the case remains under appeal. In the meantime, the Fanion family home has been sold, and the community of Westfield continues to grapple with the fallout of a crime that struck at the heart of its most respected circles.

48 Hours: “The Detective’s Wife” continues to explore this case, revealing how trust, marriage, and justice collided in one of Massachusetts’ most complex and emotionally charged trials.