Make New York Post a Preferred Source Disgraced ex-cop Matthew Farwell was convicted Tuesday by a Boston jury in the killing of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child.
Farwell, 41, was found guilty on two federal charges of killing a witness or victim and causing the death of an unborn child and faces up to life in prison at his sentencing.
The verdict comes after a nearly four-week long trial where federal prosecutors claimed Farwell, a married father, killed Birchmore inside her Canton apartment and disguised it as a suicide to silence her about their relationship and her pregnancy.
Birchmore had allegedly told Farwell that she was ready to come forward about the former Stoughton police detective sexually abusing her for years, starting when she was just 15.
Farwell’s attorneys argued that Birchmore took her own life the same night Farwell told her he was breaking things off with her.
Prosecutors said Farwell murdered her the day before his wife delivered the couple’s third child.
Birchmore was jealous of the pregnancy of Farwell’s wife, prompting her to demand he have a child with her or she would expose their years-long affair to the spouse.
Farwell eventually agreed and Birchmore became pregnant with a boy in Dec. 2020 — just a few months before her death, the feds alleged.
The duo thought that Farwell was the father, but DNA later revealed that the fetus belonged to another man, prosecutors revealed at trial.
Jurors heard from dozens of witnesses, including Stoughton police dispatcher James Fitton — who said he was instructed by Farwell to “never talk about this again” when he relayed a call from a woman claiming that Farwell was having an affair with her friend.
Prosecutors said that the call was the catalyst that pushed Farwell to decide to kill Birchmore just 13 days later.
Farwell and Birchmore met when she was only 14 and attending the Stoughton police’s “Explorers” program for kids, where Farwell was one of the instructors.
Birchmore was an aspiring cop when Farwell allegedly groomed her for a year before he started sexually assaulting her when she was just 15.
Her Feb. 1, 2021, death was initially ruled a suicide by state investigators before the feds took another look at the case and arrested Farwell for the murder over three years later.
