Photo: WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The defense has rested its case in the murder trial of former Stoughton police detective Mathew Farwell.
Closing arguments are expected on Friday.
Farwell is accused of strangling Sandra Birchmore inside her Canton apartment in 2023 then staging the scene to look like she committed suicide.
Monday and Tuesday this week featured the testimony of several defense witnesses including Kentucky Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Ralston and forensic anthropologist Heather Garvin.
Ralston questioned the qualifications of key prosecution expert Dr. William Smock, though Ralston testified that he personally never reviewed the evidence in Birchmore’s case.
Garvin testified that Birchmore’s fractured hyoid bone could not establish whether she was strangled or died by hanging, although she acknowledged the fracture did not rule out strangulation.
The prosecution alleges Farwell groomed and sexually abused Birchmore beginning when she was 15 then killed her to cover up their relationship.
At the time of Birchmore's alleged murder, she was pregnant with a child that DNA testing showed Farwell was not the father.
Farwell's defense is while he acknowledges having a relationship with Birchmore, he did not kill her and her unborn child.
If convicted, Farwell faces life in federal prison.