Jurors to decide fate of ex-cop in 2021 killing of Sandra Birchmore
Federal prosecutors say Matthew Farwell strangled Birchmore and staged the scene as a suicide to hide years of abuse.
By Martin Reynolds ·
Matthew Farwell, a former Massachusetts police officer, faces a jury verdict in the coming days after a federal trial concluded in Boston. Farwell pleaded not guilty to charges that he killed 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore and her unborn son in 2021. Prosecutors alleged that Farwell, who was 27 when he first met Birchmore, strangled her and arranged her apartment to look like a suicide.
The case centers on a relationship that began when Birchmore was 15. The two connected through a Stoughton police youth program where Farwell served as an instructor. By October 2020, Birchmore texted a friend that she had given Farwell an ultimatum to impregnate her or reveal the affair to his wife. She became pregnant by late December 2020, and on December 28, she sent Farwell a photo of a poster reading, 'Congrats we are goin' to be parents!'
Forensic evidence presented during the trial sparked a dispute between expert witnesses. Dr. William Smock, a strangulation expert for the prosecution, testified that a fracture in Birchmore's hyoid bone and an injury on her chest indicated homicide. He noted that a clasp from a duffle bag strap caused the chest injury and that the bone fracture rarely occurs in suicides. Defense experts, including anthropologist Heather Garvin and former New Hampshire chief medical examiner Dr. Thomas Andrew, argued the injuries were consistent with suicide. Dr. Andrew specifically stated, 'This is not manual strangulation.'
DNA testing revealed that Farwell was not the biological father of the unborn child. FBI Special Agent Heidi Kelsch testified that the father was a defense contractor who had met Birchmore in December 2019. Birchmore had told the man the child was not his. Despite this, Farwell went to Birchmore's apartment on February 1, 2021, the last day she worked. He told state police investigators he went to break up with her and tell her the baby was not his.
Surveillance footage captured Farwell entering Birchmore's building at 9:14 p.m. on February 1, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a face mask. Digital forensics showed Birchmore's phone recorded eight steps at 9:40 p.m. No further movement was recorded. Farwell was seen leaving the building at 9:43 p.m. Birchmore, who typically texted Farwell after his visits, did not send a message that night.
Cheryl Carlson, an assistant principal who worked with Birchmore, described the young woman as excited about her pregnancy. Carlson said Birchmore wanted the baby 'to have someone to love.' Carlson testified that she was surprised when authorities initially ruled the death a suicide because it did not fit Birchmore's character.
Stoughton police dispatcher James Fitton testified that Farwell became visibly upset on January 20, 2021, after Fitton mentioned a call from a woman alluding to a relationship between Farwell and a friend. Farwell later threw out the note he had taken during that shift. In his account to state police, Farwell claimed the relationship began when Birchmore was 20 or 21, a timeline that conflicted with text messages read in court.
State police Trooper Matthew Dunne, who led the initial investigation, admitted he did not take notes during his first interview with Farwell in a school parking lot. He described the decision as a tactical move to encourage Farwell to speak. Farwell did not take the stand in his own defense.
