Ex-Stoughton Cop Charged With Killing Pregnant Woman To Remain In Custody

A federal judge ordered that the former police officer remain locked up pending his trial.

By Joseph Hosey, Patch Staff

May 26, 2026 4:20 pm EDT

STOUGHTON, MA — A federal judge ordered that a former Stoughton police officer charged with killing a pregnant woman remain in custody pending his trial.

Judge M. Page Kelley handed down the order Tuesday in the case of Matthew Farwell.

Farwell, 40, was charged with strangling 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore to death and also causing the death of her unborn son in utero.

Farwell killed Birchmore to cover up his sexual exploitation of her that began when she was 15, according to prosecutors.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, "Farwell killed Birchmore with malice aforethought and with the intent to prevent her from disclosing to law enforcement that he used his authority and access as a police officer to groom and sexually abuse Birchmore, including while he was on duty, beginning when she was 15 years old and continuing until her death."

"The government’s theory is that he strangled Birchmore and then repositioned her body and staged her apartment to make it look like she had committed suicide," Kelley's order said.

Birchmore and Farwell met when she was a teenage Stoughton Police Explorer and he was a Police Explorer volunteer, according to a federal indictment.

"Before Birchmore attained the age of 16 years old, Farwell engaged in sexual intercourse and other acts with Birchmore," the indictment said. "Farwell's sexual contact with Birchmore continued until in or around early 2021."

"According to court documents, Farwell agreed to attempt to impregnate Birchmore in the Fall of 2020 to avoid her publicly disclosing details about their relationship," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a media release.

"Birchmore told Farwell that she was 'keeping it' and 'the birth certificate is being signed,'" according to the release, which said Birchmore was eight to 10 weeks pregnant when Farwell killed her.

In the order to detain Farwell, Kelley said the "government has strong evidence that Farwell murdered Birchmore, someone with whom he had a close and long-term relationship, with premeditation, knowing that she was pregnant."

"In addition, the government argues that Farwell possessed images depicting sexual violence against women ... and that after Birchmore’s death, he accessed pornography focused on 'teen sex,' demonstrating that he “maintains an interest in the sexualization of teenagers," the order said.