A former Massachusetts police officer already accused of murdering a woman he allegedly sexually exploited as a teenager now faces an additional charge for the death of her unborn son.
Matthew Farwell, 39, of Easton, was charged Tuesday in federal court with causing the death of the unborn child of Sandra Birchmore, whom he is accused of strangling in early 2021 after learning she was pregnant. Birchmore was 23 years old at the time.
Farwell, who served with the Stoughton Police Department from 2012 to 2022, has pleaded not guilty to the initial charges. He remains in federal custody and is scheduled to go to trial next year. His public defenders did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
According to court documents, Birchmore met Farwell through the Stoughton Police Explorers program when she was just 12 years old. Farwell, then a volunteer with the youth mentorship program, allegedly used his authority to groom and sexually exploit her beginning at age 15. The indictment claims he continued to have a sexual relationship with Birchmore after she reached adulthood.
“During some of the shifts when Farwell was supposed to be performing his duties as a Stoughton police officer, he was instead engaged in sex acts with Birchmore,” the indictment states, as per WCVB.
Prosecutors allege that Birchmore told Farwell she was pregnant in late 2020 and that he reacted with anger. On or about February 1, 2021, Farwell allegedly strangled her and used his police training to stage her Canton apartment to make her death appear to be a suicide.
Farwell was first arrested and indicted in August 2024 on federal charges related to sexual exploitation and murder. The new indictment adds the charge of causing the death of an unborn child, further intensifying the case against him.
Following Farwell’s arrest, Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara said her department immediately launched an extensive internal investigation in cooperation with federal authorities, including the FBI.
“The day after Sandra Birchmore was found dead in her Canton apartment, I ordered a lengthy and aggressive internal affairs investigation, the instructions of which made it clear that no stone should be left unturned,” McNamara said in a statement.
McNamara described the case as deeply disturbing and a betrayal of public trust. “The alleged murder of Sandra is a horrific injustice,” she said. “The allegations against the suspect, a former Stoughton Police Officer, represent the single worst act of not just professional misconduct but indeed human indecency that I have observed in a nearly three-decade career in law enforcement.”
Farwell’s trial is expected to shed further light on the abuse Birchmore endured and the systemic failures that may have allowed it to continue unchecked.