Photo: WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has instructed prosecutors not to seek the death penalty against the former Stoughton police officer accused of murdering Sandra Birchmore, according to a court filing.
Matthew Farwell is accused of killing Birchmore, 23, and her unborn child to cover up alleged sexual exploitation that started when Birchmore was a minor. He has pleaded not guilty to killing a witness, a charge that carries a minimum sentence of life in prison.
Birchmore was found dead inside her Canton apartment in 2021. Farwell is accused of strangling her and staging the death to look like a suicide.
Farwell and Birchmore met at a youth program through the Stoughton Police Department. Prosecutors say Farwell began sexually exploiting Birchmore when she was 15 and that they maintained a sexual relationship into her adulthood.
WBZ NewsRadio's Madison Rogers (@madisonwbz) reports.