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An ultrasound of Sandra Birchmore’s unborn son was shown in court Wednesday at the trial of disgraced ex-cop Matthew Farwell, who is accused of killing her to keep her quite about their affair and her pregnancy.
The jury at Farwell’s Boston federal trial was shown several images of Birchmore’s disheveled apartment in Canton, Mass. — where she was found dead on Feb. 4, 2021, three days after the 40-year-old married father-of-three allegedly strangled her and staged it to look like a suicide.
One of the photos showed the 23-year-old expectant mom’s kitchen fridge, with a photo of her pregnancy ultrasound held up by a magnet.
Another picture showed a box for a baby stroller placed upside-down on her apartment floor.
Birchmore was at least eight months pregnant at the time of her death, according to federal prosecutors.
Farwell killed Birchmore to ensure she couldn’t make good on threats to expose him to his wife about their seven-year sexual relationship, began with him abusing Birchmore when she was just 15, prosecutors alleged.
Birchmore and Farwell also both believed she was carrying his baby — a fact which DNA testing refuted after the fact, according to prosecutors.
Farwell’s own wife gave birth to his third child the day after the slaying, the feds claimed.
Jurors heard testimony on Tuesday about how the Canton place was Birchmore’s first apartment which she moved into in December 2020, just weeks before the murder.
The sparsely decorated home appeared dirty and cluttered, with water bottles, soda cans, cups, papers and other household items strewn about the floors, tables and countertops, the photos show.
Birchmore’s bed wasn’t made, her kitchen sink was full of soda cans, and her carpet appeared to have stains all over it, the images showed.
Cheryl Carlson, the former assistant principal at East Elementary School in Sharon where Birchmore worked as an instructional assistant, testified Tuesday that she was skeptical of the initial determination that Birchmore killed herself, prompting Carlson to personally reach out to investigators, according to a prior report by the Globe.
“It didn’t make sense to me. Because she was so excited to have that baby,” Carlson said of the supposed suicide.
“It didn’t fit with her character.”
And Birchmore even confided in Carlson about fighting with the baby’s father, but she was still determined to have the child “no matter what,” Carlson said.
After Birchmore discovered she was pregnant in December 2020 she was so happy that she texted an image to Farwell, saying, “Congrats we are going to be parents,” according to prosecutors.
But he allegedly heartlessly responded: “You are truly the worst person on the face of Earth.”
Prosecutors claimed that Birchmore told Farwell if he didn’t impregnate her she would reveal to his wife that he’d been cheating on her. So Farwell reluctantly agreed.
Farwell allegedly began grooming Birchmore when she was a 13-year-old aspiring cop in a program for kids that Farwell helped run and then began abusing her when she was just 15, prosecutors alleged.
Then when he killed her he staged the scene to make it look like she hung herself, placing a strap around her neck and suspending her seated body from the closet doorknob, prosecutors alleged.
The jury Tuesday saw horrific images of her body when it was discovered three days later.
Farwell has pleaded not guilty to killing a witness or victim and to causing the death of an unborn child.
Farwell’s defense attorney claimed Birchmore took her own life, and told jurors about her history of mental health issues to support that claim.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, claimed Birchmore was over the moon to have the child and was taking her mental health seriously as she prepared for the baby, including going back on her antidepressants.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.