"If anyone should be scared it's not you." Sandra Birchmore wrote that to Matthew Farwell in December 2020, weeks before she was found dead in her Canton apartment. This week the jury in Farwell's federal trial stopped hearing about Sandra and started hearing from her. Over three days on the stand, an FBI agent read their messages aloud: the October 2020 ultimatum after she learned his wife was pregnant, the sign announcing her own pregnancy, his reply calling her "the worst person on the face of the earth," and his texts the night a friend called his police department. Then a Stoughton dispatcher told jurors what Farwell's face did when he heard about that call. In this episode:
Monday's direct: the 49 meetings the FBI charted, including whether he was on the clock
The October 2020 ultimatum, in Sandra's words
His January 2021 text about chokeholds, 24 days before her death
"A complete 180": the key, the closet, and the week prosecutors call the lull
The defense cross: the baby's biological father, and Sandra's mental health in her own words
Sandra's OB-GYN: a viable pregnancy, no suicidal ideation, "no indications of her destabilizing"
The dispatcher who took the January 20 call, and the desk officer who said forget it
A Winnie the Pooh onesie and a Valentine's Day announcement she never got to make
The judge's rulings on exhibits and the three affair witnesses
Updated verdict prediction
Reality Check: When Grooming Comes With a Badge. How grooming by a police officer differs from grooming by an ordinary adult, from authority bias and the psychology of uniforms to why ride-alongs became a pipeline for abuse. Plus the Marshall Project's findings on Police Explorer programs, Massachusetts's new law closing the age of consent loophole, and why "she participated" is one of the most dishonest things you can say about a child and the adult with power over her.
Matthew Farwell has pleaded not guilty to killing a witness or victim and to causing the death of an unborn child. He is presumed innocent. All charges are allegations. The defense has not yet presented its case. William Farwell has never been charged with any crime.
Content note: child sexual abuse and grooming, strangulation, suicide and self-harm, pregnancy loss. Explicit messages written when Sandra was a minor are described, not read. If you're struggling, call or text 988. RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673 Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453 National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
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