BOSTON (Court TV) — A former police officer charged in connection with the death of his mistress now faces a new charge after a superseding indictment was filed in federal court.
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)
Matthew Farwell was charged in 2024 with killing a victim or witness in the death of Sandra Birchmore. A new indictment, filed on Tuesday, adds a charge of protection of unborn children.
Farwell and Birchmore met when Birchmore was a member of the Stoughton Police Explorers Academy and allegedly began a sexual relationship when Farwell was 26 and Birchmore was 15. Farwell is accused of meeting Birchmore for sex while he was on the clock and working as a Stoughton police officer.
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When Birchmore was found dead in her home in 2021, she was pregnant; prosecutors said that she told Farwell that he was the father. Recent DNA testing revealed that Farwell was not the biological father.
The new indictment offers new details about Birchmore’s pregnancy, specifying that she was eight to ten weeks pregnant with a boy when she was killed on Feb. 1, 2021. The document also alleges that 11 days before her death, Birchmore’s friend called the Stoughton Police Department and told an employee that Farwell was in a sexual relationship with Birchmore. That employee then allegedly told Farwell about the call.
At the time of Birchmore’s death, her relationship with Farwell was a secret. Investigators said Farwell killed Birchmore while his wife was in labor with their third child.
Farwell’s trial is scheduled to begin in October 2026. Prosecutors have until January 20, 2026, to tell the court if they intend to seek the death penalty.
