Key moments from ex-cop's trial in the death of Sandra Birchmore
Summary
A federal jury is considering whether former Massachusetts police officer Matthew Farwell killed Sandra Birchmore, 23, and her unborn child in 2021. Prosecutors say he killed her to silence her about years of sexual abuse and staged her death as a suicide; Farwell has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers challenged the prosecution’s account of how she died.Key Facts
- Prosecutors said Farwell began sexually abusing Birchmore when she was 15 and he was 27, after they met through a police youth program.
- Birchmore’s body was found in her apartment on Feb. 4, 2021, hanging in a seated position from a door handle by a duffle bag strap.
- Local authorities first classified Birchmore’s death as a suicide and later changed the finding to undetermined.
- Federal prosecutors charged Farwell in 2024 with killing a witness or victim and in 2025 with causing the death of an unborn child.
- Text messages shown at trial included Birchmore saying she wanted Farwell to impregnate her and telling him she had felt scared during a meeting.
- Prosecution expert Dr. William Smock testified that Birchmore’s death was a homicide and cited an injury and a fractured hyoid bone.
- Defense experts disputed whether the physical evidence proved homicide, and Farwell’s lawyers also cited an apparent suicide note and an online search by Birchmore.
- Farwell did not testify, and the trial reached closing arguments on Friday.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
