Sandra Birchmore Was Killed Hours Before Accused Cop’s Wife Gave Birth, Prosecutors Say in Opening Statement
Sandra BirchmoreCredit: FacebookMatthew Farwell, a former Stoughton police officer, is charged with one count of killing a witness or victim and one count of protection of unborn children
A former police officer’s federal trial begins today
Matthew Farwell, 40, is charged in the 2021 deaths of Sandra Birchmore and her unborn baby
Prosecutors reiterated during opening statements that he allegedly killed Birchmore 24 hours before his wife gave birth to their third child
The federal trial of a former police officer accused of killing expectant mother Sandra Birchmore began in Massachusetts with opening statements on Friday, Oct. 9.
Prosecutors allege Matthew Farwell, a former Stoughton police officer, strangled 23-year-old Birchmore in her Canton, Mass. apartment in February 2021. The teaching assistant was pregnant with her first child when she died.
Her death was initially believed to be a suicide, but Farwell, now 40, was arrested and charged years later when investigators alleged he “used his authority as a police officer” to “groom and sexually abuse Birchmore from age 15 until her death,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a press release. Prosecutors claim he killed her to cover up their secret relationship.
Farwell has pleaded not guilty to one count of killing a witness or victim and one count of protection of unborn children, with prosecutors claiming he also caused the death of Birchmore’s unborn child.
In opening statements reported by NBC Boston, prosecutors reiterated that Farwell allegedly killed Birchmore 24 hours before his wife gave birth to their third child, who did not survive.
Prosecutors previously said Birchmore learned of Farwell’s wife’s pregnancy in October 2020 and offered to keep their affair secret if he impregnated her.
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In December of that year, Birchmore told Farwell she was pregnant. Prosecutors claimed he was angry about it and wanted “nothing to do with the baby.” Birchmore, however, was excited about the pregnancy, with her friend Barbara Wright telling PEOPLE in September 2024 that she “was over the moon.”
According to prosecutors, Birchmore met Farwell at the Stoughton Police Explorers, a mentorship program where Farwell was a volunteer instructor around 2012.
Prosecutors pointed out Birchmore as “the littlest one” in a group photo from the program shown to jurors, NBC Boston reported. Farwell sent Birchmore a Facebook friend request that year before allegedly beginning a sexual relationship with the girl when he was 27, prosecutors said, per the outlet.
The first witnesses in the trial are expected to be called Tuesday, Oct. 13.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
Source: Crime