BOSTON — The defense is expected to call just one witness Friday in the trial of Matthew Farwell, the former Stoughton police detective accused of killing Sandra Birchmore.
A psychiatrist is expected to testify Friday morning, one day after the defense called three witnesses, including Birchmore’s former boyfriend, William Kilroy, who revealed what she told him years before her death.
Follow Bob Ward’s live court updates
The allegations against Farwell
Farwell is accused of killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore, who was pregnant at the time of her death, and staging the scene at her Canton apartment to make it appear she died by suicide.
Prosecutors say Farwell believed he was the father of Birchmore’s unborn child until her death. DNA testing later determined that he was not the father.
Farwell has pleaded not guilty. His defense maintains that Birchmore died by suicide after Farwell went to her apartment to end their relationship.
Stoughton Police Detective Daniel Barber is expected to resume his testimony Thursday and face cross-examination from the defense.
Read a recap of Thursday’s testimony
Kilroy, of Weymouth, testified that he met Birchmore in 2016 and dated her around the time her mother and grandmother died.
Kilroy described Birchmore as depressed, upset, and confused during that period. He said she did not directly talk about wanting to hurt herself, but did express suicidal thoughts, including wanting to “join her grandmother.”
Kilroy testified that he and Birchmore remained in each other’s lives after their breakup. When he later wanted to end their friendship entirely, he said Birchmore claimed she had been pregnant with his child and suffered a miscarriage.
“She claimed it was mine,” Kilroy testified.
He also said Birchmore threatened to die by suicide and include him in a note as one of the reasons.
During cross-examination, prosecutors emphasized that those conversations happened in 2017, years before Birchmore’s death.
Prosecutors also asked Kilroy whether Birchmore was “a fighter” and “resilient.” He answered “yes” to both questions.
Boston 25 legal analyst Peter Elikann said the defense does not have to prove its own theory of the case; it only needs to raise reasonable doubt.
Elikann said the defense could attempt to raise questions about Birchmore’s mental health while also using expert testimony to challenge the prosecution’s scientific and medical evidence.
He expects the case could ultimately come down to competing expert testimony.
“The prosecution did put on an excellent, very strong case, and the defense is going to have to kind of have somebody counter every point that the prosecution made point by point,” Elikann said.
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