Farwell sentencing set as incoming DA vows further investigation following Sandra Birchmore verdict

BOSTON — Convicted killer Matthew Farwell will be sentenced for killing Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child in February.

The former Stoughton Police officer was found guilty in federal court Tuesday.

The case against Matthew Farwell was complicated.

When Sandra Birchmore was found dead in her Canton apartment in February 2021, her death was ruled a suicide.

For more than three years Farwell got away with murder until the FBI got involved.

He was arrested in August 2024.

In his trial, prosecutors accused Farwell of agreeing to impregnate Sandra Birchmore to cover up his crimes of grooming her at a young age in the Stoughton Police Explorers Program and having sex with her when she was a minor, continuing a sexual relationship with her into adulthood while on duty as a Stoughton Police officer.

Prosecutors told jurors that when the affair started to become public, Farwell killed Birchmore and staged the death to look like a suicide one day before his third child was born.

His defense was that he went to her apartment to end their relationship and she took her own life.

Some of the key evidence in the case:

• A break inward in Sandra’s hyoid bone, indicating a strangulation.
• Farwell’s DNA on the strap around Sandra’s neck tied to her closet door.
• Surveillance video showing Farwell leaving the apartment 3 minutes after Sandra’s phone moved for the last time.

“No matter how well behaved he is, no matter how many programs he’s in, no matter the fact that he has no record…none of that matters, he will never get a parole hearing or be eligible for parole,” said Boston 25 Legal Expert Elyse Hershon.

Hershon reminded that Farwell’s conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole and the judge has no discretion to reduce that sentence.

But Farwell will have the opportunity to appeal.

Hershon said that will likely be a multiyear process, “It doesn’t help him or hurt him whether he decides to speak. Every defendant at their own sentencing hearing has a right to be heard. And that will be his decision.”

Farwell’s unanimous guilty verdict was welcomed by Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara, who is currently on administrative leave.

McNamara believes the internal affairs investigation conducted by former Deputy Chief Brian Holmes was pivotal.

“Sandra’s words were just as much a part of the trial as anything. Her text messaging to her friends to her family. She was her own witness for herself in this trial and she should not be forgotten,” said Chief McNamara.

Incoming Norfolk County District Attorney Djuna Perkins said she is going to make sure nothing like this ever happens to someone in Norfolk County again.

“I want to know what went wrong here and why. And to the extent possible, I want to disclose those results to the public, because even if, even if there’s no evidence that we can prosecute, certainly if there is evidence I will prosecute. Even if there isn’t, I think the community needs to know what happened here,” said Perkins.

Both Chief McNamara and DA-Elect Perkins sent a similar message to the public following the verdict.

McNamara said, “We are committed, I know the department is committed to continuing that rebuilding of trust.”

“My number one priority is to restore the community’s trust because when something like this happens, it not only affects the criminal justice system but also every other aspect of government,” said Perkins.

Perkins also said she wants an investigation done into the Stoughton Police Explorers Program and an audit of the whole District Attorney’s office.

“If there are other people involved either with Sandra or if there are other victims, that is going to come to light. And the da has pledged that she will investigate and we’ll have to wait and see if other people will come forward,” Hershon said.

Matthew Farwell is expected to be sentenced on February 3.

That is just a little more than six year after he killed Birchmore.

Family and friends of Birchmore will have an opportunity to address the court at that time.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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