Former Detective on Trial for Murdering Pregnant Girlfriend, Alleging Abuse Since Her Teens
Prosecutors accuse the ex-detective of killing the woman to cover up a relationship that began when she was a minor, while the defense claims she was troubled and took her own life.
A former Massachusetts police detective is on trial, accused of murdering a pregnant woman he had been having an affair with and staging her death to look like a suicide. Prosecutors allege that Matthew Farwell, 40, killed Sandra Birchmore, 23, to conceal the fact that he had begun sexually abusing her when she was 15 years old.
Prosecutors contend that Farwell murdered Birchmore on February 1, 2021, approximately 12 days after she reported their relationship to the Stoughton Police Department. They claim he went to her apartment that evening to silence her permanently, as she was about eight weeks pregnant and he had lost control of the situation. Security camera footage shows Farwell entering Birchmore's apartment building at 9:14 p.m., and her phone's activity ceased at 9:40 p.m., shortly before he was seen leaving. An expert determined Birchmore was strangled with a duffel bag strap and struggled before she died.
Farwell's defense attorneys have acknowledged his affair with Birchmore but maintain he is not a killer. They suggested to the jury that Birchmore was a troubled individual who had mental health issues, had attempted suicide as a teenager, and was experiencing extreme stress due to her pregnancy. The defense argued that Farwell went to her apartment to end the relationship, not to kill her.
The initial investigation by state police troopers in the Norfolk County district attorney's office concluded Birchmore's death was a suicide, a finding federal prosecutors say was premature and inadequate. Farwell was interviewed briefly and investigators reportedly did not take notes, collect DNA, or examine him for injuries. Texts between Farwell and Birchmore were deleted before his phone was examined.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey Cummings told jurors that investigators had reassured others, including the medical examiner, that there was no foul play. One of Farwell's brothers testified that the lead investigator, a family friend, expressed a desire to close the case quickly.
The FBI began investigating Birchmore's death in 2023, prompted in part by a former deputy chief at the Stoughton Police Department. Brian Holmes, who led an internal affairs investigation, had concluded that Farwell was in a sexual relationship with Birchmore before Farwell resigned from the department.
Evidence presented at trial included tens of thousands of text messages exchanged between Farwell and Birchmore. In one message from 2020, Birchmore stated their first sexual encounter was on April 10, 2013, when she was 15 and he was 27. Farwell responded, "Me too." Some texts also reportedly involved strangling or choking fantasies.
Prosecutors said that in 2020, Birchmore urged Farwell to acknowledge paternity and threatened to inform his wife about their affair. After she became pregnant late that year, she expressed excitement, while Farwell responded dismissively. A friend of Birchmore's testified that Farwell had pushed her during an argument and refused to acknowledge the baby as his own.
The state's medical examiner initially ruled Birchmore's death a suicide but has since changed the official cause to "undetermined." A paternity test later revealed that Army recruiter Jason Pickard, who had a sexual relationship with Birchmore starting in 2019, was the father of her child. Pickard testified that Birchmore had told him Farwell was the father and that their relationship had begun when she was underage.
Prosecutors concluded their presentation of evidence, and the defense was expected to present its case before the case goes to the jury.