Federal Jury Finds Former Stoughton Detective Matthew Farwell Guilty of Killing Sandra Birchmore

A federal jury in Boston on Tuesday found Matthew Farwell, a former Stoughton police detective, guilty of killing Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child, a verdict that closed a trial the jurors had carried into a third day of deliberations after reporting a deadlock on Monday. Farwell faces a life sentence. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2027, Court TV and Boston.com reported.

Jurors heard closing arguments Friday morning and were sent to deliberate at about 2:15 p.m. that day, Boston.com reported. Despite the Monday deadlock note, they reached a verdict by 2 p.m. Tuesday. U.S. Attorney Leah Foley, asked later about the deadlock report, said, “It was just a wrong word. They just needed more time to deliberate because at the time, they weren’t prepared to return a verdict yesterday.”

The prosecution’s case

Birchmore, 23, was found dead in her Canton apartment in February 2021, a duffel bag strap wrapped around her neck and affixed to a closet door handle, Boston.com reported. Court TV said she was found on Feb. 4, 2021. A State Police investigation determined that she died by suicide. A later FBI investigation led to Farwell’s indictment in 2024.

Prosecutors told the jury that Farwell met Birchmore when she was a teenage participant in the Stoughton police explorers program, which connected local young people with law enforcement. Foley said he used his position as an instructor in that program to “prey” on her. Farwell was 27 and Birchmore was 15 when a sexual relationship began, Foley said at a news conference after the verdict. Court TV, citing investigators, reported that Birchmore had joined the youth program when she was 12.

“Farwell wasted no time beginning to groom Sandra and lure her into his depraved world,” Foley said, according to Boston.com. She said he directed Birchmore to keep the relationship secret, and that Birchmore’s pregnancy later created “serious problems” for him. Prosecutors said that in the year before her death, Birchmore pressured Farwell to impregnate her and threatened to tell his wife about their history, and that when she learned she was pregnant in late 2020, both believed him to be the father. DNA evidence later showed that the father of the child was Jason Pickard, an army recruiter who testified that he had “encouraged” Birchmore to report Farwell for alleged sexual abuse, Boston.com reported.

Foley said Birchmore came to understand that she was a witness to and a victim of crimes Farwell had committed. “Farwell was boxed into a corner. He needed to silence Sandra in order to prevent his crimes from coming to light. He silenced Sandra by murdering her,” Foley said. Prosecutors argued that he killed her to prevent a communication to federal law enforcement about crimes that included deprivation of rights under color of law, coercion and enticement, and wire fraud, stemming from the relationship and from allegations that they met for sex while he was on duty for the town of Stoughton.

Foley said Farwell strangled Birchmore in the Canton apartment and staged the scene to appear as a suicide, less than 12 hours before his wife gave birth to their third child. Court TV reported that surveillance cameras captured him entering her apartment building on the day she died, hours before his wife went into labor, and that Foley said he then went to the hospital to be with his family. “This is absolutely diabolical behavior,” Foley said. “Farwell went on with his life, believing he had quite literally gotten away with murder.”

The defense, and the earlier suicide finding

Farwell’s lawyers argued that Birchmore killed herself after he came to her apartment to break up with her. They emphasized her mental health history, including documentation of suicidal ideation and self-harm, Boston.com reported. Much of the trial turned on the medical evidence. Dr. William Smock, an expert in emergency medicine and staged crime scenes called by the prosecution, testified that Birchmore “was the victim of a homicidal act.” The defense called Dr. Thomas Andrew, a former chief medical examiner for New Hampshire, who said the manner of death appeared to be “undetermined.”

The office of Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, which initially determined there was no foul play, said Tuesday that it hopes the verdict brings closure to Birchmore’s friends and family. The office acknowledged criticism of its handling of the case and said its “ability to prosecute was constrained by the finding of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) that the manner of death was suicide.” It said it referred the case to the attorney general’s office, worked with the federal prosecution, and, beginning in October 2022, made its case file public. “We respect the jury’s verdict and will have no further comments,” the office said.

Dr. María Del Mar Capó-Martínez, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy, testified that State Police investigators assigned to Morrissey’s office did not ask her to consider whether Birchmore’s death would have been a homicide, Boston.com reported. Foley referred after the verdict to a “cover up” of Farwell’s crimes that lasted until federal authorities became involved, then clarified that she meant Farwell’s actions, not those of state investigators. She did criticize some of the initial investigators, without elaborating. “There were some investigators early on who we will take issue with, as was obvious from the trial,” she said. She later said she was confident that Col. Geoffrey Noble, who has since assumed command of the State Police, would “take all corrective actions” he believes are necessary.

The federal investigation began in October 2023 after two police officers and a member of the public contacted the FBI, Foley said. She called Brian Holmes, the former deputy chief of the Stoughton Police Department, “pivotal” to the start of that investigation.

Family, town officials, and what comes next

As the verdict was read, loud gasps were heard in the courtroom, and Judge Casper reminded those present to remain quiet, Boston.com reported. Some in the gallery wiped away tears. Farwell’s attorneys, Kimberly Stevens and Joanne Daley, put their arms around him as jurors individually confirmed the verdict. Farwell appeared stoic as he was led out, the news site said. Court TV reported that he is 41.

“Today, justice was served for Ms. Sandra Birchmore and her unborn son, both of whom died at the hands of Matthew Farwell,” Foley said, according to Court TV. “Evidence presented at the trial was both shocking and clear: Matthew Farwell was supposed to be a trusted figure in Sandra’s life.” She added, “It is my sincere hope that, moving forward, Sandra Birchmore is not defined by the tragedies that led to this case, but rather by the memories of a young woman who had a bright future.”

Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara, who is on leave amid separate investigations into whether she faced harassment and alleged retaliation related to the department’s handling of the case, issued a statement: “Today is not just about a verdict. Today is about Sandra. Today a federal jury has confirmed what became apparent to me some time ago, that Sandra was murdered and that her murderer was a police officer who took advantage of her trust and faith in the badge and uniform.” Acting Chief James O’Connor said, “What happened to Sandra is a profound betrayal of the trust every police officer is sworn to uphold. Matthew Farwell used his position to harm someone the community had put in the care of this department. He no longer wears this badge, and he does not represent the men and women of the Stoughton Police Department, who serve this town with honor every day.”

Ray Cosgrove, Birchmore’s first cousin, told reporters that the family is grieving both Birchmore and the loss of her unborn son. “We will never have the opportunity to meet him. We will never watch him grow up, celebrate his birthdays, or see this person he might have become. We lost that future too,” he said. “Our family knew the person, the public knew the case. Sandra mattered before anyone outside her family knew her name.” He added, “Most of all, I hope that people remember Sandra Birchmore as a daughter, a niece, a cousin, a friend, a young woman preparing to become a mother, and someone whose life mattered.”

Incoming Norfolk District Attorney Djuna Perkins, who won election earlier this month, has said she plans to review the Birchmore case. Foley said her office has not been in contact with Perkins about the matter and that she would leave any further look at the explorers program to Perkins and the current Stoughton police chief. The verdict is a major public safety case for the Boston area; sentencing remains set for Feb. 3, 2027.

Sources

• Boston.com: Matthew Farwell found guilty in the deaths of Sandra Birchmore and her unborn baby
• Boston.com: Sandra Birchmore’s family, Stoughton officials, prosecutors react to Matthew Farwell conviction
• Court TV: ‘Justice was served’: Feds suggest police may take ‘corrective actions’ after officer convicted of killing Sandra Birchmore