Ex-officer Convicted of Killing Pregnant Woman to Silence Her About Abuse

WHO:

CNN - Matthew Farwell, 40, a former police detective, was convicted of murdering Sandra Birchmore, who was 23 when she died.

ABC News - Farwell was a married detective; his lawyers acknowledged he had an affair with Birchmore but said it began when she was 16.

CNN - Birchmore first met Farwell as a child while participating in a Stoughton Police Department youth program.

CNN - Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Fogarty told jurors that an investigator saw nothing suspicious in Birchmore’s apartment and called her “a troubled girl who killed herself.”

CNN - Prosecutors’ expert Dr. William Smock testified that Birchmore was strangled with a duffel bag strap and struggled before dying. Defense expert Dr. Thomas Andrew, a former New Hampshire chief medical examiner, rejected the homicide conclusion.

Fox News - Farwell faced charges of killing Birchmore after she allegedly threatened to expose a relationship that began when she was 15.

WHAT:

CNN - Farwell was found guilty of strangling Birchmore. His conviction carries a mandatory life sentence.

ABC News - The trial lasted nearly a month, with about 50 witnesses and 500 exhibits, and took place in federal court in Boston.

CNN - Prosecutors said Farwell staged the scene to make the death look like a suicide.

ABC News - The state medical examiner initially ruled Birchmore’s death a suicide; the official manner of death was later changed to “undetermined.”

CNN - The FBI uncovered about 40,000 texts between Farwell and Birchmore. The messages included recollections of sex when Farwell was 27 and Birchmore was 15.

CNN - A paternity test after Birchmore’s death showed that Farwell was not the father of Birchmore’s child.

CNN - A digital-forensics expert testified that Birchmore’s phone stopped moving three minutes before security-camera footage showed Farwell leaving her building.

WHERE:

CNN - The trial was held in federal court in Boston; Birchmore was found in her apartment, and Farwell worked for a suburban Boston police department.

ABC News - Birchmore had participated in a youth program run by the Stoughton Police Department.

WHEN:

CNN - Farwell was convicted on Tuesday; the article identifies no calendar date.

ABC News - Farwell was found guilty of strangling Birchmore on February 1, 2021, 12 days after a tipster reported their improper relationship to his department.

CNN - The FBI began investigating in 2023. Texts from late 2020 discussed Farwell’s possible role in the child’s life.

WHY:

CNN - Prosecutors said Farwell killed Birchmore to prevent her from revealing that he had sexually abused her when she was 15.

ABC News - Prosecutors said local investigators failed to pursue leads and closed the case too quickly; local prosecutors had not brought criminal charges.

HOW:

CNN - Investigators initially ruled Birchmore’s death a suicide after finding her slumped on her apartment floor with a strap around her neck. The FBI later concluded it was a homicide.

ABC News - Federal investigators said the local inquiry was rushed and compromised: Farwell was interviewed for 15 minutes in a parking lot, investigators did not take notes or collect his DNA or examine him for injuries, and police reviewed his phone after he had deleted texts.

CNN - Birchmore’s texts showed she pressed Farwell to get her pregnant and threatened to tell his wife about their relationship. They argued over his role in the child’s life.

(UPDATED November 10, 2026 21:03 UTC)

A federal jury convicted former detective Matthew Farwell of strangling Sandra Birchmore, who was 23. Prosecutors said he staged her death as suicide to conceal sexual abuse. Farwell faces mandatory life in prison after the Boston trial.