February 1, 2021. A blizzard is closing in on Boston. According to federal prosecutors, a Stoughton police detective texts 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore and asks if he can come by for a second. At 9:40 p.m., her phone logs eight steps. It never moves again.
Three days later she's found dead in her Canton apartment, eight to ten weeks pregnant. By May, Massachusetts had ruled it a suicide.
Today, jury selection began in federal court in Boston in the trial of former Stoughton detective Matthew Farwell. Prosecutors say he killed Sandra to keep her from exposing federal crimes, including sexually abusing her beginning when she was 15, and that he caused the death of her unborn son. Farwell has pleaded not guilty. His defense says Sandra died by suicide.
In this episode: - How Sandra met Farwell through the Stoughton Police Explorers youth program - The twelve days between a friend's call to the police department and Sandra's death - The investigation that ruled suicide, and the medical examiner who says she was never told the death was suspicious - The laptop data state police lost four days before Farwell's arrest - Why this is a federal case, and why prosecutors have to prove more than who killed her - DNA, the hyoid fracture, the paternity twist, and the phone search fight that broke days before trial - The witness lists, the Karen Read crossover, and what to watch when openings begin Friday - Reality Check: abuse in police Explorer programs, strangulation as a predictor of homicide, and what families can do when a death ruling doesn't fit
Plus the Commonwealth Docket Forecast, because Massachusetts now schedules murder trials the way other states schedule farmers markets.
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