BOSTON — Jurors in Boston are preparing to determine whether former police officer Matthew Farwell murdered Sandra Birchmore, a young woman prosecutors say was groomed and sexually abused by police officers beginning when she was 15.
The trial of the former Stoughton detective is nearing its conclusion. Prosecutors and Farwell’s attorney are scheduled to deliver closing arguments Friday morning after nearly four weeks of disturbing testimony.
Each side has been allotted 90 minutes to make its final case. Jurors are expected to begin deliberating afterward, according to the Boston Globe.
Throughout the proceedings, jurors heard sharply conflicting accounts of how Birchmore, 23 and pregnant, died on Feb. 1, 2021.
Prosecutors allege that Farwell, then a 41-year-old married father, killed Birchmore and arranged the scene to resemble a suicide. They say he wanted to silence her about the pregnancy, their affair and years of sexual abuse that began when she was a teenager.
Farwell’s defense team offered a different version, arguing that Birchmore took her own life shortly after Farwell visited her Canton apartment to end their relationship.
Farwell did not take the stand. His lawyers called 12 of the roughly 50 witnesses who testified, including a former medical examiner who said Birchmore’s injuries were more consistent with suicide than homicide.
The question of whether Birchmore died by suicide or was killed has remained at the center of the case. Her death was initially classified as a suicide.
Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey, whose office also handled the prosecution of Karen Read, declined to file charges. His decision drew criticism.
Federal investigators later opened their own inquiry, which led to Farwell’s arrest more than three years after Birchmore’s death.
According to prosecutors, Farwell met Birchmore through a youth police program he helped oversee while she hoped to become a police officer. They say he groomed the troubled teenager and began a sexual relationship with her when she was 15.
Massachusetts law sets the age of consent at 16.
Years later, after Birchmore had reached adulthood, prosecutors say she became upset when she learned Farwell’s wife was pregnant with the couple’s third child. They allege Birchmore demanded that Farwell have a child with her or she would reveal their relationship.
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Farwell eventually agreed, prosecutors said. But after Birchmore became pregnant and rumors about the affair began circulating, they argued, he decided to kill her — one day before his wife gave birth.
Birchmore and Farwell both believed he had fathered her child. However, postmortem DNA testing showed that he was not the biological father.
Investigators identified the father as a married military recruiter who was also having an affair with Birchmore.
Prosecutors presented 38 witnesses, including forensic and medical experts, law enforcement officers, first responders, as well as Birchmore’s friends and co-workers. Those witnesses said she had been enthusiastic about having a son and showed no apparent signs that she intended to harm herself.
The prosecution also called Farwell’s twin brother, William “Billy” Farwell. His testimony portrayed an alleged cover-up by Matthew, a compromised police investigation and inconsistencies in accounts of Birchmore’s mental state that conflicted with the defense’s position.
Billy received immunity for having sex with Birchmore while on duty in exchange for his testimony.
Billy, who was also a police officer at the time, told jurors that he had sex with Birchmore after she became an adult. He said she appeared happy and gave no indication that she was planning to hurt herself before her death, according to WBUR.
He further testified that Matthew told him he had erased his cellphone after Birchmore died. Billy also said other officers conducted only a cursory investigation into the twins’ relationships with Birchmore, according to the Boston Herald.
Both brothers resigned during an internal investigation into their relationships with Birchmore.
Farwell has pleaded not guilty to charges of killing a victim or witness and killing an unborn child.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.