Jurors in the federal trial of a Massachusetts police officer accused of killing a woman he allegedly sexually abused as a teenager were shown disturbing photographs from the crime scene.
Matthew Farwell, 40, is accused of strangling 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore in early 2021 after she told him she was pregnant, then arranging the scene to make her death appear to be a suicide.
Farwell served with the Stoughton Police Department from 2012 until 2022. Prosecutors say he first met Birchmore through the department’s police explorers program when she was 12.
According to the prosecution, Farwell used his position to groom Birchmore, sexually exploit her and abuse her after she turned 15. They allege the sexual relationship continued after she became an adult.
Birchmore learned she was pregnant in late 2020 and informed Farwell, according to the federal indictment filed in US District Court in Massachusetts.
Prosecutors allege that Farwell strangled Birchmore on or around February 1, 2021, before drawing on his police experience to stage her apartment as if she had taken her own life.
Farwell has pleaded not guilty. He maintains that Birchmore died by suicide after he ended their relationship. The Daily Mail has contacted his defense attorneys for additional comment.
During the first week of the federal murder trial, jurors viewed graphic photographs of Birchmore’s body. She was found in her bedroom on February 4, 2021, by an officer carrying out a wellness check.
A federal jury was shown disturbing crime scene photographs of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore’s body after she was found heavily pregnant
Matthew Farwell, 40, is accused of strangling Birchmore in early 2021 after she told him she was pregnant, then staging the scene to resemble a suicide
Canton Police Officer Ensley Cotard testified Tuesday that he was dispatched to check on Birchmore after she failed to report for work, NBC Boston reported.
Cotard said Birchmore’s school, where she worked as an instructional assistant, requested the welfare check. When he reached her apartment, he had to obtain a key from the property’s leasing manager.
He testified that he knocked on the door and, after receiving no response, used the key to enter the apartment.
Inside the bedroom, Cotard said he found Birchmore’s heavily pregnant body near a door. A ligature was around her neck and attached to the doorknob.
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The officer testified that he did not see a suicide note, although he said searching for one was not part of his responsibility because he had been responding to a wellness check.
The proceedings are taking place in federal court after the FBI revisited Birchmore’s death, which had initially been ruled a suicide.
Federal investigators accuse Farwell of killing Birchmore to prevent her from revealing the alleged abuse. The charge is being pursued as a federal witness-tampering homicide case.
In opening statements on Friday, prosecutors said Farwell strangled Birchmore three days before her body was discovered because she had threatened to tell his wife about their affair. His wife was also heavily pregnant with the couple’s third child, prosecutors said.
Video showed Farwell entering Birchmore’s apartment wearing a mask on the night of the alleged killing, while his attorneys argue he went there to end the relationship and that Birchmore died by suicide after he left
Prosecutors allege that Farwell used his authority to groom, sexually exploit and sexually abuse Birchmore after she turned 15
It has since been revealed that Farwell’s twin brother, William, also a Stoughton officer, and Deputy Police Chief Robert Devine (left) also had sexual relationships with Birchmore. Devine denied the allegations
Farwell’s twin brother, William (pictured), claimed Birchmore was a consenting adult when they had sex
Footage showed Farwell entering Birchmore’s apartment wearing a mask on the night of the murder, but his lawyers claim he went there to break up with her and she killed herself after he left.
It has since been revealed that Farwell’s twin brother, William, also a Stoughton officer, and Deputy Police Chief Robert Devine also had sexual relationships with Birchmore while she was in the Explorers program.
An internal police investigation concluded that the three officers had ‘inappropriate’ relationships with Birchmore, while an attorney for her family accused them of ‘passing her around like a toy.’
A DNA test done after Farwell’s arrest showed the baby was ultimately not Matthew Farwell’s.
Birchmore’s family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit against all three men, claiming that she was groomed as a teen in the police explorer program, People reported.
Devine denies any sexual relationship with Birchmore, while William claims she was a consenting adult when they had sex.