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On Wednesday, federal prosecutors announced the arrest of former Stoughton police detective Matthew G. Farwell, who is accused of killing Sandra Birchmore in February 2021 after she revealed she was pregnant with his child. Prosecutors allege that Farwell strangled Birchmore and then manipulated her Canton apartment to make it look like a suicide.
The indictment and related motion filed in US District Court in Boston outline several allegations and request that Farwell, a 38-year-old married father of three, be detained pending trial.
The Initial Meeting
According to the indictment, Birchmore joined a Stoughton police youth program at the age of 12 in March 2010 and participated until 2016. Farwell, who was an instructor in the program, allegedly began a sexual relationship with Birchmore before she turned 16. The age of consent in Massachusetts is 16.
A Desire for Parenthood
In October 2020, Birchmore informed Farwell of her desire to have a child, according to court records. Farwell agreed to "try to impregnate" her in exchange for her silence about his statutory rape and extramarital affair, prosecutors said. By December of that year, Birchmore told Farwell she was pregnant with his child.
Prosecutors wrote that Farwell's reaction was violent. He became physically aggressive with Birchmore, pushing and shoving her, taking objects from her hands, and putting her in a chokehold. Birchmore confided in several friends about the abuse.
A Call to Stoughton Police
On January 20, 2021, Farwell expressed anger to a fellow police department employee, insisting that the colleague should not disclose a call they had received about Farwell and Birchmore’s relationship, prosecutors reported. Following this, Farwell began "frantically" texting Birchmore.
Prosecutors wrote that soon after these text messages, Farwell requested a key to Birchmore's apartment, asking her to keep this request confidential. Within days, he was observed inspecting her closets and bathrooms. Just 12 days later, Birchmore was found dead.
An Alleged Murder Plan
On January 24, 2021, Farwell asked Birchmore for a key to her apartment, despite his previous reluctance to possess a spare key that could indicate their relationship, prosecutors said. Two days later, he started "casing" Birchmore’s apartment, which would become the crime scene, looking for locations to carry out the murder. He inspected her bathroom and closet, considering where items could be hung. His behavior was concerning enough that Birchmore confided her worries to several friends.
Farwell's Alleged Crime
On February 1, 2021, Farwell is accused of entering Birchmore’s apartment with the intent to kill her while wearing a face mask, despite his well-known opposition to COVID-19 masking mandates. Prosecutors reported that video surveillance footage captured him leaving the apartment shortly after silencing Birchmore.
Doctor’s Findings Indicate Homicide
Prosecutors allege that Farwell staged the scene to make Birchmore’s death appear as a suicide by hanging. However, Dr. William Smock, a forensic specialist, determined that her death was a homicide. This conclusion came despite police finding Birchmore seated with a strap around her neck and a door knob.
Dr. Smock, who directs the clinical forensic medical program at the Louisville Metro Police Department in Kentucky, also provided testimony during the trial of George Floyd’s killer in Minnesota, according to published reports.
“Dr. Smock identified several key pieces of evidence—such as Birchmore’s fractured hyoid bone, the imprint injury on her chest, abrasions on her nose, and the broken necklace—that led him to reasonably conclude with medical and scientific certainty that her death was a homicide,” prosecutors wrote. “These injuries and evidence suggest that Farwell strangled Birchmore and then hung her body from the closet doorknob—an area he had inspected days earlier—in an attempt to stage her death as a suicide.”
In May 2021, the state medical examiner’s office ruled her death a suicide. However, in June, Dr. Michael Baden, a forensic pathologist hired by Birchmore’s estate, reported that she was a homicide victim who died by strangulation.
Farwell told investigators that he went to Birchmore’s apartment to end their relationship and informed her that he was not the father of her unborn child, according to a State Police report. He claimed that Birchmore was standing in her kitchen when he left the apartment. Farwell has consistently denied any criminal activity.
Compromising Texts and Google Searches
Following Birchmore’s death, Farwell allowed police limited access to his personal cellphone. However, on February 9, 2021, he used his work cellphone to perform and then delete two Google searches. One search queried, “can deleted iMessages be recovered by Cellebrite,” and the other asked, “can you revoke consent in Massachusetts,” prosecutors reported.
Cellebrite is a company specializing in mobile forensics.
According to prosecutors, earlier text messages from Farwell detailed his relationship with Birchmore in graphic terms.
In February 2019, Farwell and Birchmore exchanged texts discussing her virginity, with Farwell acknowledging the significance of being her first. By March 2019, Farwell asked Birchmore, “What would you have done if we never used a condom and I never pulled out?” Birchmore responded that she “would’ve still finished school :)”
In another text, Farwell described their first intimate encounter. He also sent a message expressing regret that they hadn’t been intimate sooner, saying, “You should’ve told me we could’ve [expletive] so much sooner.” After sending this message, Farwell instructed Birchmore to “Clear that part out baby,” and upon confirmation that she had done so, he texted, “Good girl.”
Prosecutors also noted that other texts suggest Farwell’s alleged physical abuse of Birchmore.
Threatening Texts
Prosecutors wrote that Farwell sent Birchmore text messages on at least 20 occasions in the year leading up to her death, threatening to grab, pin down, squeeze, or choke her during sexual activity. For instance, less than four months before her death, Farwell texted Birchmore that he intended to “grab [her] throat” during their next encounter.
Concerning Images on Farwell’s Phone
Investigators discovered troubling images on Farwell’s iCloud account related to domestic and sexual violence. These included several memes, one of which "glorified a person who kills and sexually abuses someone who ‘no one will miss,’” prosecutors reported.
Efforts to Monitor Birchmore
Prosecutors revealed that as early as 2013, Farwell framed his acts of sexual violence as a form of punishment.
“The evidence suggests that the defendant used violent sexual acts to punish Birchmore for poor grades, dishonesty, or engaging in sexual activity with others,” the motion stated. “Additionally, Farwell's attempts to control Birchmore included instructing her to share her location via her phone and reprimanding her when she did not comply.”
Birchmore’s Initial Pregnancy Disclosure to Farwell
Prosecutors reported that on December 28, 2020, Birchmore informed Farwell via text that she was pregnant.
“Farwell’s immediate response to Birchmore’s pregnancy disclosure was, ‘I literally have nothing to say right now how could you express that in text when I said I don’t appreciate it,’” prosecutors wrote.
Birchmore also texted him, stating that “you need to be there during labor for me too.” Farwell subsequently called her “truly the worst person on the face of the earth,” according to prosecutors.
Farwell Allegedly Shows No Remorse for Birchmore’s Death
After being placed on leave, Farwell met a co-worker at a bar, prosecutors reported. During their conversation, he revealed his sexual relationship with Birchmore but “at no point expressed any sadness, grief, or remorse” about her death. Instead, Farwell voiced his frustration with the State Police for investigating him.