BOSTON (Court TV) — A former police officer faces a life sentence after a jury convicted him of killing a woman and her unborn baby to cover up a years-long affair that began when the victim was underage.
Matthew Farwell stands in court on Nov. 9, 2026. (Sketch by Don Drake)
Matthew Farwell, 41, was convicted of killing Sandra Birchmore, 23, and her unborn child; prosecutors said he strangled the victim and then staged the scene to make it appear that she had taken her own life.
Birchmore was found on Feb. 4, 2021, inside her apartment, hanging from a ligature attached to her doorknob. The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide, but the jury agreed with prosecutors, who argued that the victim had no reason to take her own life and was looking forward to welcoming a baby boy.
“Today, justice was served for Ms. Sandra Birchmore and her unborn son, both of whom died at the hands of Matthew Farwell,” U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley said at a news conference following the verdict. “Evidence presented at the trial was both shocking and clear: Matthew Farwell was supposed to be a trusted figure in Sandra’s life.”
Birchmore and Farwell met when Farwell was an officer in the Stoughton Police Department and Birchmore, then 12, joined the department’s youth program. Investigators said Farwell immediately began grooming Birchmore and took her virginity when she was 15 and he was 27. “The evidence introduced at trial exposed the real Farwell, the former police officer who exploited and abused a teenager, Sandra, in a way that should be unimaginable,” Foley said. “He manipulated her; he took advantage of her vulnerabilities to satisfy his illicit criminal desires.”
After she discovered she was pregnant, Birchmore was planning a future and expected Farwell to commit to her and the child, Foley said. “As his walls were closing in, it became clear to Farwell that he had lost control of Sandra.”
Surveillance cameras captured Farwell entering Birchmore’s apartment building on the day she died, hours before his wife went into labor with their third child. Foley said that after staging the scene to look like Birchmore took her own life, Farwell went to the hospital to be with his family. “This is absolutely diabolical behavior,” she said. “Farwell went on with his life, believing he had quite literally gotten away with murder.”
Foley declined to speculate about why the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office never filed state charges against Farwell, but said she had faith that the state would correct any deficiencies in the investigation into Birchmore’s death. “I’m sure that the colonel of the Massachusetts State Police is going to take all corrective actions that he believes is warranted and necessary,” Foley said. “I have all the confidence in the colonel and after investigations are completed and prosecutions are completed, it’s not uncommon to go back and see what was done right, what was done wrong, what could be done better. And I have all the faith that the colonel will do that.”
When asked, Foley denied talking to her counterparts at the Norfolk County DA’s office about the possibility of charges at the state level.
Birchmore’s cousin, Ray Cosgrove, also spoke at Tuesday’s news conference, urging people to remember the victim. “She was only 23 years old. She had so much life that should still be ahead of her,” he said. “My hope is that Sandra’s story ultimately becomes more than the circumstances of her death. I hope her story reminds us how important it is to respect the trust, protect those who place it in others, and never lose sight of the person at the heart of all of this.”
The judge scheduled Farwell’s sentencing for Feb. 3, 2027.
