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Friend recounts pregnancy and alleged assault in Sandra Birchmore death trial
A friend testified that Sandra Birchmore was happy about her pregnancy and had asked her to be the baby’s godmother. The testimony came in the federal case against former Stoughton detective Matthew Farwell, who denies killing Birchmore.
A friend of Sandra Birchmore told jurors Thursday that Birchmore was happy about her pregnancy and had asked her to be the baby’s godmother, as prosecutors presented testimony in the federal case against former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell, who is accused of killing her.
Lesley Davis, 30, testified that Birchmore told her Farwell shoved her to the ground after she asked whether he would sign the baby’s birth certificate. Davis said Farwell denied being the father. Birchmore was 23 and about eight to 10 weeks pregnant when she died in her Canton apartment in February 2021.
Davis said Birchmore never spoke to her about suicide. A few days after Birchmore’s death, Davis went to Canton police and urged them to investigate Farwell, she testified.
Farwell, 40, has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege he strangled Birchmore and staged her death to look like a suicide. The case challenges the state’s initial finding that she died by suicide. Farwell’s defense has argued that Birchmore took her own life after he ended their relationship. DNA testing later excluded Farwell as the baby’s biological father.
Prosecutors say Farwell killed Birchmore to stop her from reporting crimes, including a sexual relationship that began when she was 15 and taking part in a Stoughton police youth program where Farwell volunteered as an instructor.
The jury also heard testimony Thursday about Farwell’s behavior around the time Birchmore died. Stoughton Sgt. Robert Kuhn, who said he had worked with Farwell for years and knew him socially, testified that Farwell strongly opposed COVID-19 mask requirements. Surveillance footage shows a masked Farwell entering Birchmore’s apartment building on the night she was last seen alive, Kuhn said. Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara, who is on leave, also recalled Farwell’s opposition to masking and said his appearance in the footage struck her as unusual.
McNamara said she remembered Birchmore from the department’s Police Explorers program. Birchmore joined in 2010, when she was 12; McNamara recalled that she was shorter and appeared younger than the other participants.
Prosecutors also called a digital forensic analyst to testify about data recovered from Birchmore’s laptop and cellphone. Brian Holmes, a former Stoughton deputy police chief, testified about an internal affairs investigation he led. That investigation found that Farwell and two other department members had inappropriate relationships with Birchmore while she was in the youth program, according to the testimony.