STOUGHTON, MA — The fourth day of testimony is underway Friday in the federal trial of former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell.
Two witnesses testified as of early Friday afternoon, including former Stoughton Deputy Police Chief Brian Holmes and FBI digital forensic examiner Christopher Beckstrom.
Farwell, 40, is charged with killing Sandra Birchmore and causing the death of her unborn child. Prosecutors allege he strangled the pregnant 23-year-old in her Canton apartment in 2021 to prevent her from disclosing their relationship, which they say began when she was 15. Farwell has pleaded not guilty and maintains Birchmore died by suicide.
The first set of witnesses took the stand Tuesday after a jury of 16 was finalized last week.
Farwell faces federal charges of killing a witness or victim and causing the death of a child in utero, according to a superseding indictment. Prosecutors claim Farwell strangled Birchmore on Feb. 1, 2021, then staged the scene to appear as though she died by suicide.
Farwell's defense acknowledges that he had an affair with Birchmore but maintains that he did not kill her.
Beckstrom, the FBI examiner, testified that investigators recovered about 24,000 communications between Farwell and Birchmore, according to Boston.com's live court coverage.
An iPhone linked to Farwell showed searches for whether consent to a phone search could be revoked and whether deleted messages could be recovered, Beckstrom testified. The searches were made Feb. 9, 2021, days after Birchmore was found dead, according to Boston.com.
Beckstrom also testified that Birchmore's phone was last unlocked at 9:13 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2021. The phone recorded eight steps and traveled about six meters at 9:40 p.m., according to Boston.com.
Holmes, who now serves as the Kingston Police Chief, testified that he alerted the FBI about Stoughton police's internal investigation in 2022. He also said a recording of a January 2021 call from Birchmore's friend to Stoughton police was not retained, according to Boston.com.
Editor's note: This story was last updated Friday at 2:45 p.m. and will be updated with additional testimony from the fourth day of the trial.
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