BOSTON (Court TV) — DNA test results show that a former Massachusetts police officer accused of killing his mistress after she told him she was pregnant did not father her unborn child.
This photo provided by the Stoughton, Mass., Police Department shows Matthew Farwell, a former police officer who pleaded not guilty Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, to charges of killing a woman he is accused of sexually exploiting when she was underage and then trying to stage the death as a suicide after she told him she was pregnant. (Stoughton Police Department via AP)
The stunning turn of events was reported by the Boston Globe after two people spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
Matthew Farwell allegedly began having sex with Sandra Birchmore when she was 15 and he was 26. Birchmore was 23 when her body was found in her Canton apartment. Her death by strangulation was ruled a suicide. Farwell’s wife was in labor with the couple’s third child while he was allegedly killing Birchmore. Seven years later, prosecutors filed charges against Farwell, saying he staged her death to look like a suicide.
Farwell was a Stoughton police officer when he met Birchmore, who was a member of the Stoughton Police Explorers Academy.
WATCH: Vinnie Politan Investigates | The Death of Sandra Birchmore
Last August, a federal grand jury indicted Farwell for killing Birchmore. He has pleaded not guilty. Federal authorities also allege he had sex with Birchmore while on the clock. They believe his motive was keeping her from exposing their affair.
Birchmore allegedly told friends that Farwell had been violent with her and that he became furious when she told him she was pregnant. According to text messages between Birchmore and Farwell, she very much wanted to have a baby with him. It was known that she had other sexual partners, but messages between the two indicated that she truly believed Farwell was the father.
Whether the DNA revelation will impact Farwell’s case remains to be seen. If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence.
It is unclear if the unborn baby’s father has been identified.
