Matthew Farwell, a former officer with the Stoughton Police Department, has been indicted for the alleged murder of Sandra Birchmore, a 23-year-old pregnant woman he had reportedly been sexually abusing since she was 15. Authorities claim that Farwell, 38, strangled Birchmore in her Canton apartment in February 2021, then staged the scene to make it appear as though she had committed suicide.

The alleged abuse began in 2010 when Birchmore, then just 13, met Farwell through the Stoughton Police Department’s youth program, known as the Explorers, which was dedicated to teaching young people about careers within law enforcement. Farwell was an instructor in the program. 

By the time she was 15, Farwell, then 27, is accused of initiating a sexual relationship with her, which authorities say culminated in her pregnancy in late 2020.

Court documents show purported text exchanges suggesting that the two began their relationship while Birchmore was just 15 years old and that Farwell continued to fantasize about having sex with her when she was still a juvenile.

On June 19, 2020, Birchmore and Farwell allegedly texted about his past sexual abuse of her and admitted he could have made her do anything he wanted.

'Lol if I pushed I absolutely could’ve f****d you without condoms from day one,' Farwell said, according to authorities.

'Probably if you really pushed it,' said Birchmore. 'I was kinda scared to say no in the beginning not knowing how you’d take it so yeah you would've got no comdoms [sic] lol.' 

On the same day, the two allegedly discussed when they originally began their sexual relationship, with Farwell admitting that he was interested in having sex with Birchmore in 2012, when she was 14.

When she discovered she was pregnant in late 2020, she drew the father-to-be a card to celebrate.

'Congrats, we are going to be parents! 2021,’ it read.

She sent a picture of the card to Farwell, which prompted an argument over whether he would sign the birth certificate.

'You are truly the worst person on the face of the earth,' Farwell told Birchmore.

Initially ruled a suicide, Birchmore’s death was re-examined after a pathologist hired by her family argued that she had been murdered. Federal authorities later supported this conclusion, leading to Farwell’s indictment.

Farwell has denied the allegations of abuse but admitted to having sex with Birchmore after she turned 16, the age of consent in Massachusetts.

Farwell is one of three police officers accused of molesting her. His brother, William Farwell, and Robert Devine were also named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Birchmore’s family. All three officers resigned from the department in 2022, but as of now, no criminal charges have been filed against them.

Farwell is known to be the last person who saw Birchmore alive. Surveillance footage from Birchmore’s lobby, taken just three days before her body was found, shows Farwell arriving with a hood over his face and later leaving alone. The indictment charges Farwell with killing Birchmore "with malice aforethought, willfully, deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation."

The charge against Farwell carries a minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum penalty of death. Prosecutors have not said if they will pursue the death penalty.

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