Matthew Farwell, formerly of the Stoughton police department, is accused of killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore. According to prosecutors, she was pregnant with his child and was initially thought to have committed suicide.
A Massachusetts police detective has been charged with strangling a pregnant woman whose death was initially ruled a suicide.
Matthew Farwell, a former detective with the Stoughton police in suburban Boston, was in court Wednesday after being arrested in connection with the 2021 death of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore. Farwell, 38, was arrested Tuesday and charged with killing a victim or witness, and is accused of staging the crime scene to make it look like a suicide.
According to officials, Farwell killed Birchmore in her apartment in the Boston suburb of Canton around February 1, 2021, to prevent her from revealing information about his long-standing sexual exploitation. The crimes began when she was just 15 years old, officials say.
Farwell’s attorney, Sandra Gant, did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment Wednesday.
“While Birchmore’s death was initially ruled a suicide, the federal investigation examined old evidence and uncovered crucial new evidence that led to the charges against Farwell,” prosecutors said in a press release.
Here’s what we know:
An alleged pattern of abuse spanned nearly a decade
Farwell was a police officer with the Stoughton Police Department for about 10 years and served as an instructor for the Stoughton Police Department’s Explorer’s Program, court documents say. The vocational training program teaches children about careers in law enforcement.
Birchmore entered the program in 2010 when she was 12. Farwell then allegedly abused his authority to molest and sexually exploit her when she was 15, and he allegedly continued to have sex with her as an adult, federal prosecutors say.
Prosecutors also allege that Farwell engaged in sexual acts with Birchmore while on duty as a police officer and concealed his activities by allegedly providing false information about his work hours. His sexual contact with Birchmore continued until her death in 2021, prosecutors said.
Birchmore was pregnant at the time of her death
Birchmore learned she was pregnant in December 2020, and court documents indicate she was excited about the prospect of becoming a mother and the pregnancy overall.
Shortly after telling Farwell that he was the child’s father and expected him to be involved in her child’s life, she told her family that he had become violent toward her, court documents show.
According to court documents, Farwell held Birchmore in a headlock during her pregnancy and told her he wished she were dead.
About two weeks before her death, Birchmore’s boyfriend called Stoughton police, where Farwell worked, and mentioned Farwell and Birchmore’s sexual relationship. He reportedly then sent angry text messages to Birchmore and, a few days later, asked her for a spare key to her apartment and asked her not to tell anyone.
Court documents state that Farwell murdered Birchmore on February 1, 2021, in an attempt to silence her.
“He strangled her despite knowing she was several weeks pregnant,” prosecutors say in court documents. “He took steps to cover up the murder, including by relocating Birchmore’s lifeless body and staging her apartment … and by lying to the Massachusetts State Police detectives who were originally in charge of investigating Birchmore’s death.”
If convicted, Farwell could face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
