By Salma El-Sakka
Former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell, 40, went on trial in federal court this month charged with killing Sandra Birchmore, 23, and staging her death as a suicide in February 2021. Prosecutors allege Farwell murdered Birchmore to silence her about a sexual relationship that began when she was 15 and he was 27, and to hide her pregnancy.
Initial Suicide Ruling Challenged
When Birchmore was found dead in her Massachusetts apartment, state police working with the Norfolk County district attorney’s office quickly ruled the death a suicide. The investigation lasted only 15 minutes; Farwell was interviewed in a parking lot, no notes were taken, no DNA collected, and his phone was examined only after he deleted texts with Birchmore. The lead investigator, a longtime family friend of the Farwells, told Farwell’s twin brother he wanted the case closed. The medical examiner initially certified suicide but later changed the cause to “undetermined.”
Relationship Began When Birchmore Was 15
Birchmore met Farwell through a Stoughton police mentoring program when she was 12. By 2013, when she was 15 and Farwell was 27, they had their first sexual encounter, according to text messages read at trial. Over the years they exchanged about 40,000 texts, some showing Farwell engaging in sexting that involved strangulation and choking. In 2020, Birchmore pressed Farwell to get her pregnant and threatened to tell his wife about their relationship.
Prosecutors Allege Motive: Pregnancy and Threats
After Birchmore became pregnant in late 2020, she texted Farwell an image reading “Congrats, we are going to be parents.” He replied he had “nothing to say.” When she suggested he be present at the birth, he called her “the worst person on the face of the earth.” A friend testified Farwell pushed Birchmore to the ground during a fight and refused to sign a birth certificate acknowledging paternity. Twelve days before her death, a woman reported Farwell’s relationship with Birchmore to Stoughton police, angering him.
Night of the Death
On Feb. 1, 2021, Farwell texted Birchmore asking to stop by her apartment. Security video shows him entering at 9:14 p.m. Digital forensics indicate Birchmore’s phone stopped moving at 9:40 p.m., three minutes before lobby cameras recorded Farwell leaving. Prosecutors say he killed her during that window to prevent exposure of their relationship. An expert for the government, Dr. William Smock, concluded Birchmore was strangled with a duffel bag strap and struggled before dying.
Defense Argues Suicide
Farwell’s attorney, Kimberly Stevens, acknowledged the affair but denied murder. She portrayed Birchmore as a troubled woman with a history of psychiatric medication since age 6, a prior suicide attempt, and financial desperation. Stevens said Farwell visited to break up, not to kill. A paternity test later revealed the father was Army recruiter Jason Pickard, who met Birchmore in 2019.
Trial Progress
Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday. The defense was expected to call witnesses Friday before the case goes to the jury as early as next week.
