Ex-Cop Guilty of Murdering Sandra Birchmore After Abusing Her as a Teen, Believing She Carried His Child

Matthew Farwell and Sandra BirchmoreCredit: Stoughton Police Department via AP; Justice for Sandra Birchmore/Facebook

Former Massachusetts police officer Matthew Farwell was found guilty of murdering Sandra Birchmore, 23, and her unborn child in 2021

Prosecutors said Farwell began sexually abusing Birchmore when she was 15 and killed her after she told him she was pregnant with what he believed was his child

Farwell faces a mandatory life sentence

The former police officer accused of killing Sandra Birchmore has been found guilty on all charges by a federal jury in Boston.

Matthew Farwell, 41, was convicted on both counts he faced at trial: killing a witness, victim or informant and killing an unborn child, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on X.

The second charge stems from a federal law that makes it a crime to cause the death of an unborn child while committing certain federal offenses.

Prosecutors said during the trial that Farwell strangled Birchmore days after she told him she was pregnant with his child and staged her death to look like a suicide.

He faces a mandatory life sentence in prison.

Matthew Farwell enters Sandra Birchmore’s apartment the night of her deathCredit: NBC10 Boston/YouTube

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According to prosecutors, Farwell began grooming Birchmore shortly after the then-13-year-old middle-school student enrolled in the Stoughton Police Explorers program.

The daughter of a single mother, Birchmore had dreams of one day becoming a member of law enforcement in Massachusetts.

Farwell began showing a special interest in Birchmore and became a mentor to the young girl. Then, when she was 15 and he was 27, he began sexually assaulting her.

Prosecutors said Farwell continued sexually abusing Birchmore for years, until her death in February 2021 at age 23.

Prosecutors rested their case on Oct. 28 after showing jurors video of Farwell at Birchmore’s apartment on the night of her death and some of the 40,000 text messages the two exchanged over the course of eight years.

Farwell’s twin brother William was also called to the stand, testifying that the defendant wiped his cell phone after Birchmore’s death.

William also admitted to having a relationship with the victim in 2018.

Birchmore’s death was initially declared a suicide by local authorities, but federal officials decided to step in after reports began to emerge about Farwell, William and a third officer having sexual relationships with Birchmore.

Sandra BirchmoreCredit: Justice for Sandra Birchmore/Facebook

In 2024, the FBI completed its investigation and ruled Birchmore’s death a homicide, arresting Farwell that same day.

Prosecutors argued that Farwell, who pleaded not guilty to both counts, killed Birchmore because of her pregnancy and fears of being exposed for sexually abusing her as a minor.

It was later revealed that another man, Jason Pickard, was actually the father of that unborn child. The former U.S. Army recruiter, 37, also took the stand during the trial and testified that suicide was the last thing on Birchmore’s mind at the time of her death.

Farwell, meanwhile, chose not to take the stand in his own defense.

Source: Crime