Former police officer Matthew Farwell to stand trial for murdering pregnant woman
2 october 2026 в 04:50
The trial against former Massachusetts state police officer Matthew Farwell, accused of murdering a pregnant woman, will begin in court next week. According to federal prosecutors, Farwell killed Sandra Birchmore to prevent her from revealing information about his alleged sexual assault on her when she was a minor.
Farwell, who is now 40 years old, is accused of strangling Birchmore in her apartment in Canton in February 2021 and staging her death as a suicide. At the time of her death, Birchmore, who was 23 years old, was eight to ten weeks pregnant. The trial will start on October 6 with jury selection.
In court filings, prosecutors opposed Farwell’s recent motion to move the case out of Massachusetts due to pretrial publicity. The judge denied this motion, as well as a previous one to change the venue. Following the initial murder charge in Birchmore’s case, Farwell was also charged in October 2025 in connection with the death of her unborn child.
Farwell has pleaded not guilty to the charges of murdering a witness or victim, as well as causing the death of her unborn child. According to prosecutors, he allegedly killed Birchmore after she informed him of her pregnancy and expected him to be involved in the child’s life.
Farwell served in the police from March 2012 to April 2022 and was an instructor in a children’s educational program. Birchmore joined this program in 2010 when she was 12 years old. Prosecutors claim that he continued a sexual relationship with her even after she became an adult.
Farwell has been married since 2013 and has three children, including the youngest, who was born a day after Birchmore’s death. After she informed him of her pregnancy, she told her family that he became aggressive and threatened her. DNA testing confirmed that he is not the father of her unborn son. Farwell claims that Birchmore’s death was a suicide. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
Farwell, who is now 40 years old, is accused of strangling Birchmore in her apartment in Canton in February 2021 and staging her death as a suicide. At the time of her death, Birchmore, who was 23 years old, was eight to ten weeks pregnant. The trial will start on October 6 with jury selection.
In court filings, prosecutors opposed Farwell’s recent motion to move the case out of Massachusetts due to pretrial publicity. The judge denied this motion, as well as a previous one to change the venue. Following the initial murder charge in Birchmore’s case, Farwell was also charged in October 2025 in connection with the death of her unborn child.
Farwell has pleaded not guilty to the charges of murdering a witness or victim, as well as causing the death of her unborn child. According to prosecutors, he allegedly killed Birchmore after she informed him of her pregnancy and expected him to be involved in the child’s life.
Farwell served in the police from March 2012 to April 2022 and was an instructor in a children’s educational program. Birchmore joined this program in 2010 when she was 12 years old. Prosecutors claim that he continued a sexual relationship with her even after she became an adult.
Farwell has been married since 2013 and has three children, including the youngest, who was born a day after Birchmore’s death. After she informed him of her pregnancy, she told her family that he became aggressive and threatened her. DNA testing confirmed that he is not the father of her unborn son. Farwell claims that Birchmore’s death was a suicide. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
© Smirnova Olga
