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Ex-Stoughton cop Matthew Farwell’s DNA was on strap used to strangle Sandra Birchmore, prosecutors say
Believing that she was pregnant with his child, Farwell killed the 23-year-old Birchmore in 2021, according to prosecutors.
DNA evidence found on the strap that was used to kill Sandra Birchmore was linked to former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell, according to new court filings.
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Farwell is accused of killing Birchmore in her Canton apartment in early 2021 and staging the scene to appear as if her death was a suicide. He allegedly began sexually exploiting her while she was underage and maintained a secretive relationship with her for years until her death. Birchmore was pregnant when she died, and prosecutors say Farwell believed he was the father.
New details about the DNA evidence found at the crime scene came to light Monday in a memo submitted by prosecutors in response to Farwell’s recent request to be released on bail before his trial later this year.
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Birchmore was found on the floor of her apartment with a duffel bag strap tied around her neck. The strap was connected to a closet doorknob, according to investigators. The Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory tested the strap in 2021 and found male DNA samples. But state investigators did not obtain DNA samples from Farwell at the time and therefore no conclusions could be drawn from that evidence, federal prosecutors wrote in the memo.
The state medical examiner’s office ruled that Birchmore died by suicide three months after her body was found. Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey previously investigated her death but declined to bring criminal charges. Farwell was not indicted until August 2024, after federal authorities investigated.
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The FBI did obtain a DNA sample from Farwell after his arrest in 2024. It allegedly matched the samples found on the strap that was tied around Birchmore’s neck.
“The presence of Farwell’s DNA on the murder weapon—i.e., the strap used to asphyxiate Birchmore—is, of course, highly inculpatory,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors conceded that Farwell’s DNA was not found under Birchmore’s fingernails. But they did say his sperm cells were found on the underwear that Birchmore was wearing when she was found dead. This revelation indicates Farwell lied to state investigators about the last time he had sex with Birchmore and shows “his consciousness of guilt,” they said.
There has also been confusion about the paternity of Birchmore’s unborn son. DNA evidence has excluded Farwell as the father of the child, according to the memo. But prosecutors say that Farwell believed he was the father when he allegedly killed Birchmore. Farwell “repeatedly and intentionally” had unprotected sex with Birchmore on days she was ovulating in the months before she got pregnant, they said. Text messages allegedly exchanged between Farwell and Birchmore in late 2020 and early 2021 reinforce the notion that Farwell believed he was the father, according to prosecutors.
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The true parentage of the child is not publicly known. Farwell’s twin brother, William, another former Stoughton police officer, admitted to having been in a sexual relationship with Birchmore in an interview with state investigators after her death, The Boston Globe has reported.
A footnote attached to Matthew Farwell’s request to be released on bail last month initially appeared to name William Farwell as the father. Matthew Farwell’s attorneys quickly moved to withdraw the filing and submit a new one with an updated footnote. Claims that William Farwell was the father are incorrect, they said in their motion to withdraw.
Matthew Farwell initially agreed to be held without bail and has been detained at a facility in Rhode Island since his arrest. But last month he asked to be released on $50,000 bail and a number of other conditions. He argued that he is not a flight risk or a danger to the community, and is entitled to bail. He has pleaded not guilty and maintains that Birchmore’s death was a tragic suicide.
Prosecutors say Matthew Farwell first began having sex with Birchmore in 2013, when she was 15 and he was 27. Since his arrest, FBI agents have uncovered evidence showing he engaged in multiple other extramarital affairs with adult women while he was “simultaneously grooming, sexually exploiting, and continuing to have sex with Birchmore.” His behavior was “much more brazen” in these other affairs compared to the secrecy with which he treated his affair with Birchmore, which indicates that he knew the affair with Birchmore originated from a crime and that he “acted accordingly,” the memo says.
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Birchmore also knew that she was a victim of child sexual exploitation and was “willing to leverage it to get what she wanted” from Farwell, other new evidence shows, according to the memo.
She “became even more assertive and resistant” to his manipulation after learning she was pregnant, according to the memo. Birchmore contacted attorneys to plan for “potential issues related to paternity, child custody and support.” Her communications indicate that she was “willing to use her role as a victim of Farwell’s crimes to ensure that she and her unborn child would be financially secure,” prosecutors wrote.
A witness told investigators that Farwell appeared “stressed” about two weeks before Birchmore’s death and indicated that he was having a relationship problem with someone other than his wife.
“When this witness asked if they could help, Farwell said ‘the problem was going to take care of itself,’” prosecutors wrote in the memo.
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