Closing arguments expected in trial of Matthew Farwell, accused of killing pregnant Sandra Birchmore

Associated Press · Michael Casey · 2026-11-06 05:04 UTC

Closing arguments are set to begin in the case of a former Massachusetts police officer accused of killing a pregnant woman to keep her from revealing they had an illicit sexual relationship when she was 15. A federal prosecutor will argue Friday that Matthew Farwell killed Sandra Birchmore and tried to stage her death as a suicide after learning she was pregnant in 2021. She was 23 at the time. Farwell was a married detective with the Stoughton Police Department, where Birchmore had participated in a youth program as a child. Local police initially concluded that Birchmore’s death was a suicide. But the FBI began looking into the case two years later and concluded it was homicide.

Closing arguments expected in trial of ex-cop accused of killing Sandra Birchmore

BOSTON (AP) — Closing arguments are expected Friday in the trial of a former Massachusetts police officer accused of killing a pregnant woman to keep her from revealing that they had been in a sexual relationship that began when she was 15.

Federal prosecutors say Matthew Farwell killed Sandra Birchmore, 23, and tried to stage her death as a suicide in 2021 after learning she was pregnant with what he thought was his child. At the time, Farwell was a married detective with the Stoughton Police Department, where Birchmore had participated in a youth program as a child.

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