Former police officer accused of killing pregnant woman and staging it as a suicide

BOSTON (AP) — A former Massachusetts police officer pleaded not responsible Wednesday to costs of killing a girl he’s accused of sexually exploiting when she was underage after which making an attempt to stage the dying as a suicide after she instructed him she was pregnant.

Matthew Farwell, 38, entered the plea throughout an preliminary look in federal court docket in Boston. He was handcuffed and led out of the room. A detention listening to is scheduled for Sept. 10.

Farwell was arrested at a buying plaza within the metropolis of Revere on Wednesday after he was indicted on costs he strangled Sandra Birchmore in early 2021 after she instructed him she was pregnant and he was the daddy. Birchmore was 23 years previous.

Farwell killed Birchmore to forestall authorities from discovering out particulars of his sexual offenses, based on allegations within the indictment.

Farwell labored as an officer for the police division in Stoughton, south of Boston, for 10 years, from 2012 till 2022. It wasn’t instantly clear why he left the division.

Birchmore started collaborating within the police explorers program when she was 12 years previous, based on the indictment in U.S. District Courtroom in Massachusetts.

Courtroom paperwork say that Farwell, who was a police explorers volunteer, used his authority and entry to groom, sexually exploit after which sexually abuse Birchmore when she was 15 and that he continued to have intercourse along with her when she grew to become an grownup.

“Throughout a few of the shifts when Farwell was speculated to be performing his duties as a Stoughton police officer, he was as a substitute engaged in intercourse acts with Birchmore,” based on the indictment.

In late 2020, Birchmore discovered she was pregnant and instructed Farwell, based on the indictment.

FBI Assistant Particular Agent in Cost Stephen Kelleher mentioned Birchmore was excited when she discovered she was pregnant and texted Farwell a poster she made celebrating the being pregnant. She had additionally reached out to a good friend about child garments and to a photographer about potential child photographs, based on Kelleher.

Kelleher referred to as the allegations towards Farwell “wicked.”

“Matthew Farwell’s gun and badge didn’t grant him authority to violate the structure, and it definitely didn’t entitle him to sexually exploit, abuse, and rape a toddler earlier than killing her and her unborn child in an try and cowl up his alleged crimes,” he mentioned.

Investigators additionally believed Farwell staged the condo to make it appear to be she had died by suicide, Kelleher mentioned.

The following month, a good friend of Birchmore’s referred to as the Stoughton Police Division to inform them Farwell had been having intercourse with Birchmore.

Farwell strangled Birchmore on about Feb. 1, 2021, after which used his police data to stage her condo to make it look as if she had died by suicide, based on the indictment.

On some events, Farwell had been on obligation when he sexually abused Birchmore as a minor and he falsely claimed sure work hours to cover that offending conduct, court docket paperwork say.

Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara mentioned Wednesday that the division had labored with different businesses, together with the FBI, to research.

“The day after Sandra Birchmore was discovered lifeless in her Canton condo, I ordered a prolonged and aggressive inside affairs investigation, the directions of which made it clear that no stone must be left unturned,” McNamara mentioned in an announcement.

“The alleged homicide of Sandra is a horrific injustice,” McNamara mentioned. “The allegations towards the suspect, a former Stoughton Police Officer, signify the one worst act of not simply skilled misconduct however certainly human indecency that I’ve noticed in an almost three-decade profession in regulation enforcement.”

If convicted of killing a witness or sufferer, Farwell would face a minimal sentence of life in jail. Performing U.S. Lawyer Joshua Levy on Wednesday declined to touch upon whether or not federal authorities would search to impose the dying penalty if Farwell is discovered responsible, saying the choice could be made by the Division of Justice in Washington.

Massachusetts has outlawed capital punishment.

One other listening to is scheduled for Oct. 17.

___

Perry reported from Meredith, New Hampshire.