Ex-Stoughton Officer Convicted Of Killing Pregnant Woman And Her Unborn Child
Former Stoughton, Massachusetts police officer Matthew Farwell has been convicted in federal court of killing pregnant 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore in her Canton apartment and causing the death of her unborn child, following a jury verdict announced Tuesday.[1]
Jurors found Farwell guilty of killing a witness or victim in a federal case and causing the death of an unborn child, after prosecutors argued he strangled Birchmore on February 1, 2021, then staged her death to look like a suicide with a strap around her neck.[2] Sentencing has not yet been scheduled, but the rare federal conviction tied to the death of an unborn child is expected to carry a lengthy prison term.[3]
Prosecutors told jurors that Farwell, then a 27-year-old Stoughton officer, began a sexual relationship with Birchmore when she was 15 and involved in a police-run youth program, framing his conduct as years of grooming and exploitation.[2] They said Farwell continued the relationship for years, even after marrying someone else, and killed Birchmore after she became pregnant and allegedly threatened to expose him and their history to authorities.[2] Federal investigators later uncovered roughly 40,000 text messages between the two, which prosecutors used to show a long-term sexual relationship and Farwell's control over her.[2]
The government argued at trial that on February 1, 2021, Farwell went to Birchmore's Canton apartment, killed her, and then arranged her body with a strap around her neck to mimic a suicide, knowing she was a potential witness or victim in a federal investigation.[2] Prosecutors said the staged scene was meant to deflect scrutiny from the yearslong relationship and her pregnancy, and to prevent her from cooperating with authorities about his alleged misconduct with a minor.[3]
Farwell's defense team admitted to jurors that he had an extramarital affair with Birchmore but insisted he did not kill her, maintaining that she died by suicide after a long history of mental health struggles.[2] A defense medical expert testified that Birchmore's injuries were consistent with self-inflicted hanging and disputed the prosecution's claim that she had been strangled; jurors ultimately rejected that account in returning the guilty verdict on Tuesday.[2]
The conviction, reported by CBS News and other outlets on Tuesday afternoon, caps a case that raised sharp questions about police power, officer relationships with vulnerable young people, and how the federal system handles crimes that result in the death of an unborn child.[1] Federal prosecutors portrayed Farwell's conduct not as a single tragic encounter but as the culmination of years of exploitation that began when Birchmore was a teenager and ended only when she was killed while carrying his child.[2]
Show source details & analysis (3 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- Former Stoughton, Massachusetts police officer Matthew Farwell was convicted in federal court of killing Sandra Birchmore, a witness or victim, and causing the death of her unborn child, according to a jury verdict reported by CBS News.
- Prosecutors say Farwell killed Birchmore on February 1, 2021, in her Canton, Massachusetts apartment and staged the scene with a strap around her neck to make the death appear to be a suicide, as detailed in a Fox News report.
- The government’s theory, highlighted in the Fox News coverage, is that Farwell killed Birchmore after she became pregnant and allegedly threatened to expose their yearslong relationship.
- Prosecutors allege the relationship between Birchmore and Farwell began when she was 15 and he was 27, framing the conduct as long-term sexual exploitation and grooming in the Fox News account.
- Federal investigators uncovered roughly 40,000 text messages between Birchmore and Farwell, which prosecutors cited as evidence of a long-term sexual relationship and grooming, according to Fox News.
- Farwell’s defense team, as summarized in the Fox News article, admitted he had an extramarital relationship with Birchmore but argued she died by suicide, pointing to her mental health history and a defense medical expert who disputed that she was strangled.
- News of Farwell’s conviction for killing Birchmore and causing the death of her unborn child was publicly reported on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, reinforcing the timeline of the verdict in the CBS News video report.
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- CBS News video confirms that a jury has convicted former Stoughton officer Matthew Farwell of killing Sandra Birchmore and causing the death of her unborn child.
- The conviction was publicly reported on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, reinforcing the timeline of the verdict already described in earlier text coverage.
- The Fox News article confirms that Farwell was convicted in federal court of killing a witness or victim and causing the death of an unborn child, consistent with earlier reporting.
- The piece reiterates that investigators say Farwell staged the February 1, 2021 killing of Sandra Birchmore in her Canton, Massachusetts apartment to look like a suicide, with a strap around her neck.
- Fox emphasizes prosecutorial theory that Farwell killed Birchmore after she became pregnant and allegedly threatened to expose their yearslong relationship, which prosecutors say began when she was 15 and he was 27.
- The article notes that federal investigators uncovered approximately 40,000 text messages between Birchmore and Farwell, supporting the government’s portrayal of a long-term sexual relationship and grooming.
- Defense arguments are summarized: Farwell’s attorneys conceded the extramarital relationship but maintained Birchmore died by suicide, citing her mental health history and a defense medical expert who disputed that she was strangled.