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Federal prosecutors allege ex-Stoughton officer staged Birchmore's death as suicide

Associated Press reports Matthew Farwell is on federal trial, charged with killing Sandra Birchmore, whose death police first ruled a suicide.

Updated Oct 30, 2026 · 14:16 UTC1 reports

The short version

  • Matthew Farwell is on trial in federal court, charged with killing Sandra Birchmore and staging her death to look like a suicide.[Associated Press]
  • Police quickly ruled the death a suicide, but the state medical examiner has since changed the cause to undetermined.[Associated Press]
  • The FBI began examining the death in 2023, partly at a former Stoughton deputy chief's urging, and a federal expert concluded she was strangled.[Associated Press]
  • Defense attorney Kimberly Stevens told jurors Farwell had an affair with Birchmore but did not kill her.[Associated Press]

Key facts

  • Farwell is on trial in federal court, five years after Birchmore's death, charged with killing her and staging her death as a suicide.[Associated Press]
  • Police quickly decided Birchmore's death was a suicide when she was found dead in her Massachusetts home.[Associated Press]
  • The FBI began looking into the death in 2023, partly at the urging of a former deputy chief at the Stoughton Police Department, where Farwell worked.[Associated Press]
  • An expert brought in by federal authorities concluded Birchmore was strangled with a duffel bag strap and struggled before dying.[Associated Press]
  • Security camera video showed Farwell entering Birchmore's building at 9:14 p.m., and a digital forensics expert testified her phone stopped moving at 9:40 p.m.[Associated Press]
  • The state medical examiner initially determined Birchmore died by suicide, relying partly on police information, but has since changed the official cause of death to undetermined.[Associated Press]
  • A paternity test revealed that Army recruiter Jason Pickard, not Farwell, fathered Birchmore's child.[Associated Press]

What remains uncertain

  • Whether Farwell killed Birchmore is unresolved; the murder allegations are prosecution claims being tested at trial, and the defense denies he killed her.[Associated Press]
  • The reporting does not explain how the medical examiner's undetermined ruling relates to the federal expert's strangulation finding.[Associated Press]
  • The reporting provided does not establish how the defense says Birchmore died; it states only that the defense says Farwell did not kill her.[Associated Press]
  • Only Associated Press has reported this event among the provided sources, so these details have not been independently confirmed by other outlets.[Associated Press]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.