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Prosecutors Rest Case in Farwell Murder Trial

By Drooid · Oct 30, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

South Boston court heard former Stoughton officer Matthew Farwell’s prosecution rest its case.
Farwell is charged with killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child on Feb. 1, 2021.
Surveillance video shows Farwell entering Birchmore’s building at 9:14 p.m. and leaving at 9:43 p.m.
Defense called ex-boyfriend William Kilroy, who testified Birchmore voiced suicidal thoughts and a 2017 note.
If convicted, Farwell faces mandatory life imprisonment; jurors were sent home after three defense witnesses.

Summary

William Farwell testified under immunity, admitting sexual contact with Sandra Birchmore on duty.
Prosecutors claim Matthew Farwell groomed Sandra Birchmore from age 15 through Stoughton Police Explorers.
State medical examiner Caitlin Bulger, who performed Birchmore’s 2021 autopsy, testified to dispute suicide classification.
William Farwell recounted receiving an unsolicited Facebook message from Sandra Birchmore in summer 2018.
Prosecutor Brian Fogarty said the motive was stopping Sandra Birchmore from exposing sexual-exploitation crimes.

Summary

Dr. María Del Mar Capó-Martínez changed Birchmore’s death certificate from suicide to “undetermined” after new evidence.
She said she had altered a death certificate only once or twice in ten years of service.
Capó-Martínez testified police withheld crucial text messages and DNA results, limiting her autopsy conclusions.
Dr. William Smock, a former emergency-medicine physician, was introduced as a prosecution expert despite not being board-certified in forensic pathology.

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Farwell Prosecution Rests

South Boston court heard former Stoughton officer Matthew Farwell’s prosecution rest its case.
Farwell is charged with killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child on Feb. 1, 2021.
Surveillance video shows Farwell entering Birchmore’s building at 9:14 p.m. and leaving at 9:43 p.m.
Defense called ex-boyfriend William Kilroy, who testified Birchmore voiced suicidal thoughts and a 2017 note.
If convicted, Farwell faces mandatory life imprisonment; jurors were sent home after three defense witnesses.

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