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

CTV News · The Associated Press · 2026-11-06 15:00 UTC

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.

BOSTON — 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.

Lawyers for Farwell, who is now 40, acknowledge he had an extramarital relationship with Birchmore. But they say he didn’t kill her and didn’t have sex with her until she was an adult.

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