The jury in U.S. District Court in Boston is set to determine the fate of Matthew Farwell, a former Stoughton police officer charged with the death of Sandra Birchmore. Federal prosecutors allege that Farwell killed the 23 year old woman and her unborn son in 2021 to silence her after years of sexual abuse that began when she was a teenager. Farwell has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include killing a witness or victim and causing the death of an unborn child.
The relationship between Farwell and Birchmore began through a police youth program in Stoughton, where Farwell served as an instructor. Prosecutors stated that the abuse started when Birchmore was 15 and Farwell was 27. Text messages revealed during the trial highlighted Birchmore's frustration with Farwell, who was expecting a third child with his wife. In October 2020, Birchmore told a friend she gave Farwell an ultimatum to impregnate her or reveal the affair to his wife. By late December of that year, she was pregnant and shared a celebratory image with Farwell, who later responded with a harsh message calling her the worst person on the face of the earth.
Birchmore was found dead on February 4, 2021, after police conducted a welfare check at her apartment. She was discovered hanging from a door handle by a duffle bag strap. While local authorities initially ruled the death a suicide, a subsequent federal investigation led to Farwell being charged in 2024. The manner of death was later changed to undetermined. During the trial, Farwell did not take the stand, and his attorneys focused on casting doubt on the prosecution's theory that he strangled her and staged the scene to look like a suicide.
Expert testimony presented conflicting evidence regarding the cause of death. Dr. William Smock, a strangulation expert for the prosecution, argued that the scene was staged, pointing to a clasp on the strap that caused a chest injury and a fracture of the hyoid bone, which is rare in suicides. In contrast, defense experts, including anthropologist Heather Garvin and former chief medical examiner Dr. Thomas Andrew, suggested the injuries were consistent with a hanging rather than manual strangulation. Garvin noted that the fracture pattern did not definitively prove homicide, while Dr. Andrew stated that the factors of the death did not align with manual strangulation.
DNA testing conducted by the FBI revealed that Farwell was not the biological father of Birchmore's child. The father was identified as a defense contractor who had met Birchmore through an Army Reserve recruiting program. Although the relationship was sexual, the contractor testified that Birchmore told him the child was not his. He also explained that he did not report Farwell to authorities because he feared for his marriage and career, respecting Birchmore's request for discretion.
Surveillance footage and phone data provided critical timelines for the events of February 1, 2021. Farwell was seen entering Birchmore's apartment building at 9:14 p.m. wearing a hooded sweatshirt and face mask. Birchmore's phone recorded eight steps at 9:40 p.m., after which no movement was detected. Farwell was seen leaving the building at 9:43 p.m. Notably, Birchmore usually texted Farwell after his visits, but she did not that night. State police trooper Matthew Dunne testified that Farwell claimed he visited Birchmore that day to break up with her and inform her the baby was not his.
Dunne also noted discrepancies in Farwell's account of how the relationship began. Farwell told investigators the affair lasted two to three years, implying Birchmore was in her early twenties when it started. This contradicted text messages read in court that indicated the relationship began when she was 15. Dunne stated that these contradictory statements were given weight during the investigation. Furthermore, Dunne admitted that neither he nor his supervisor took notes during their initial interviews with Farwell, a decision he described as tactical to encourage the officer to speak freely.
Colleagues of Birchmore described her as excited about her pregnancy. Cheryl Carlson, an assistant principal who worked with Birchmore, recalled that Birchmore wanted the baby to have someone to love and had shared details about the father's situation with her. Carlson expressed surprise when the death was initially ruled a suicide, noting that Birchmore's determination to keep the child did not fit the narrative of self harm.
