A former Massachusetts police officer allegedly killed his pregnant mistress, who he had been having a sexual relationship with since she was a minor, and staged her death to look like a suicide.
Former police officer killed pregnant mistress
On Wednesday, Matthew Farwell, 38, was charged with the murder of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore on Feb. 1, 2021, at her apartment outside of Boston.
According to acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Josh Levy, Farwell, who is married, killed Birchmore to keep her from disclosing that he had been having sex with her since she was a young teenager.
Farwell, now 38, allegedly felt cornered as Birchmore began confiding in friends about his abusive behavior and their prolonged affair.
According to Levy, the victim had endured “years of grooming, statutory rape and then sexual violence” by Farwell who “decided to silence her permanently” when the police officer “realized he could no longer” control her.
Birchmore became acquainted with Farwell when he joined was hired at the Stoughton Police department in 2012, and and began instructing the Explorers program, which the then 14-year-old girl was a participant in.
The following year, Farwell pursued the girl and would have sex with her while he was on the clock. It was the beginning of an illicit relationship that would span nearly a decade.
Prosecutors alleged that Farwell controlled and abused Birchmore for years, monitoring her location and causing sexual violence.
Text messages revealed Farwell had devious fantasies involving wanting to pin Birchmore down during sex while she begged him to stop because she was only 13-years-old and “not ready for this.”
In late 2020, Birchmore blackmailed Farwell into impregnating her “in exchange for her silence about his criminal conduct.”
However, after she became pregnant in December 2020, he reportedly was not pleased.
“He became physically violent with Birchmore. She told multiple friends that Farwell had pushed and shoved her, grabbed objects from her hands, and put her in a chokehold,” according to the indictment.
Police officer killed pregnant mistress allegedly to cover up his crime
In January 2021, Farwell learned that an informant had notified a coworker at the Stoughton police department about his relationship with Birchmore as a minor. He also discovered that Birchmore had disclosed to a friend that their relationship began while she was still underage.
According to prosecutors, Farwell began taking “steps” toward murdering Birchmore, including obtaining a key to her apartment and scouting locations within her home to commit the criminal act.
He allegedly scrutinized areas in the apartment “where items could be hung,” including her bathroom and closet.
The behavior was so out of the ordinary, the victim told several friends that she was “concerned” about his actions.
“On February 1, 2021, Farwell decided to act. For him, that day provided at least two advantages: a blizzard was approaching greater Boston, ensuring that no one would notice Birchmore’s absence from work for several days; and Farwell’s wife was hours away from delivering their third child.”
Farwell allegedly messaged Birchmore to inform he was coming over to her apartment, but wore a face mask to hide his identity.
He reportedly strangled her and staged the scene to make it look like that Birchmore had hung herself.
Farwell allegedly positioned her body in a seated posture with a strap tied to her neck and a doorknob, according to federal authorities.
Her body was discovered by Canton Police three days later, when she failed to show up at her job.
Ex-cop almost got away with killing pregnant mistress
Farwell’s plan almost worked, as Massachusetts State Police and an autopsy concluded that Birchmore died by hanging, and her death was ruled a suicide.
His lies caught up to him days later when the then-cop told investigators that he began having sex with the victim in 2020, when she was already of age, but had not been intimate with her for over a year.
A second medical examiner hired by the state found inconsistencies with the initial cause of death and suspected that Birchmore had been strangled to death.
When authorities dug into Farwell’s electronic devices, they found incriminating text messages and internet searches in his history.
The Stoughton police opened an internal investigation into Farwell and placed him on administrative leave. He resigned from his position in April 2022.
Federal agents arrested Farwell on Wednesday, charging him with killing a witness or a victim. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment.
