Administrative woes slowing pretrial progress for Brian Fanion, former Westfield police officer accused of ki – MassLive.com

SPRINGFIELD - Progress has slowed in the high-profile case of retired Westfield Police Detective Brian Fanion, accused of killing his wife in 2018 and staging her death to look like a suicide.

During a brief pretrial hearing before Superior Court Judge Michael Callan on Thursday, lawyers on both sides said transcriptions of grand jury testimony has slowed to a snails pace and stymied the usual pretrial progress of the case.

Fanion was arrested on Nov. 7 and charged with murder after being indicted in Hampden Superior Court. He has been held without the right to bail ever since.

Amy Fanion, 51, died on May 8, 2018, at the couples home in Westfield. Fanion told his colleagues at the time his wife shot herself in the head while he was home on his lunch hour, after they had argued. However, prosecutors contend Brian Fanion pulled the trigger because he was having an affair and wanted to divorce his wife without giving up half of his pension.

Fanions defense attorney and his family -- including Amy Fanions brother and the couples two children -- have vehemently denied Brian Fanion had anything to do with her death and remain supportive.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, say they have a solid pyramid of forensic evidence and expert testimony that prove Amy Fanion could not have pulled the trigger on the gun that day.

Defense lawyer Jeffrey Brown told Callan hes been hampered by the fact that he hasnt received transcriptions of grand jury testimony -- particularly by out-of-state expert witnesses in forensics.

The case against Mr. Fanion is primarily reliant on certain expert testimony, Brown said.

Assistant District Attorney Mary Sandstrom told Callan that Philbin and Associates, a local transcription firm, has a backlog dating back months.

The commonwealth isnt looking to delay this in any way, shape or form, Sandstrom said.

Callan pushed back, encouraging Sandstrom to put the firms feet to the fire.

They can be ordered to put it at the top of the pile ... and they will because they work for you, Callan said.

He set the next pretrial hearing for Feb. 5.

Fanion was not present in court and requested not to be at the subsequent hearing, Brown said.

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Administrative woes slowing pretrial progress for Brian Fanion, former Westfield police officer accused of ki - MassLive.com