Ex-Massachusetts Cop on Trial in Pregnant Woman's Death

[#~image_alt_1~#] A former Massachusetts police detective is on trial in federal court in Boston, accused of strangling a pregnant 23-year-old woman and staging her death to look like a suicide.

Matthew Farwell, 40, a former Stoughton police detective, is charged with killing a witness or victim and killing a child in utero in the February 2021 death of Sandra Birchmore. She was found dead in her Canton apartment, and a state investigation initially ruled her death a suicide. Private investigators hired by her estate later concluded it was a homicide, and a federal investigation followed. The FBI arrested Farwell in August 2024. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors say Farwell met Birchmore through the Stoughton Police Explorers youth program and began sexually abusing her in 2013, when she was 15 and he was 27. Farwell was married with children. Birchmore later became pregnant and told Farwell he was the father, though DNA testing later ruled him out.

In opening statements Oct. 9, Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey Cummings told jurors Farwell began planning the killing after a friend of Birchmore's called Stoughton police in January 2021 and reported the relationship. "He had lost control of Sandra," Cummings said. Prosecutors say security cameras recorded Farwell leaving her building the night she died, and that his DNA was found on the strap around her neck.

Defense attorney Kimberly Stevens acknowledged that Farwell had an affair with Birchmore and made mistakes, but insisted he is not a killer. "Matthew Farwell did not kill Sandra Birchmore," Stevens told jurors. She said Farwell went to the apartment that night to break up with Birchmore, and argued that Birchmore, who was nearly broke and had little family support, took her own life.

Prosecutors have since accused the defense of misrepresenting evidence, saying two text messages Stevens described in her opening do not exist. Judge Denise Casper is overseeing the trial, which is expected to last about a month. If convicted, Farwell faces a possible life sentence.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Ex-Massachusetts Cop on Trial in Pregnant Woman's Death

A former Massachusetts police detective is on trial in federal court in Boston, accused of strangling a pregnant 23-year-old woman and staging her death to look like a suicide.

Matthew Farwell, 40, a former Stoughton police detective, is charged with killing a witness or victim and killing a child in utero in the February 2021 death of Sandra Birchmore. She was found dead in her Canton apartment, and a state investigation initially ruled her death a suicide. Private investigators hired by her estate later concluded it was a homicide, and a federal investigation followed. The FBI arrested Farwell in August 2024. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors say Farwell met Birchmore through the Stoughton Police Explorers youth program and began sexually abusing her in 2013, when she was 15 and he was 27. Farwell was married with children. Birchmore later became pregnant and told Farwell he was the father, though DNA testing later ruled him out.

In opening statements Oct. 9, Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey Cummings told jurors Farwell began planning the killing after a friend of Birchmore's called Stoughton police in January 2021 and reported the relationship. "He had lost control of Sandra," Cummings said. Prosecutors say security cameras recorded Farwell leaving her building the night she died, and that his DNA was found on the strap around her neck.

Defense attorney Kimberly Stevens acknowledged that Farwell had an affair with Birchmore and made mistakes, but insisted he is not a killer. "Matthew Farwell did not kill Sandra Birchmore," Stevens told jurors. She said Farwell went to the apartment that night to break up with Birchmore, and argued that Birchmore, who was nearly broke and had little family support, took her own life.

Prosecutors have since accused the defense of misrepresenting evidence, saying two text messages Stevens described in her opening do not exist. Judge Denise Casper is overseeing the trial, which is expected to last about a month. If convicted, Farwell faces a possible life sentence.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

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