Federal prosecutors will not seek death penalty against Matthew Farwell
The former Stoughon police officer accused of killing a woman he began sexually abusing when she was a teenager won't face the death penalty, federal prosecutors revealed in a court filing Tuesday.
Matthew Farwell is charged with killing a witness or victim in connection with the death of Sandra Birchmore , a death penalty-eligible crime. But prosecutors said Tuesday that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the government not to seek the death penalty in the case.
Farwell's defense is headed by Kimberly Stevens, a public defender who has handled several high-profile death penalty cases . He is being held at a detention center in Rhode Island while he awaits trial, which is scheduled for October.
Prosecutors faced a Jan. 20 deadline to file notice of whether they intended to seek the death penalty.
Sandra Birchmore, of Canton, died in 2021 and Massachusetts officials ruled her death a suicide. On Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, federal authorities charged former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell with killing Birchmore. Bichmore is pictured here in a photograph from Facebook.Sandra Birchmore via Facebook
Massachusetts has outlawed the death penalty, but it is still legal at the federal level. The state was home to the high-profile death penalty case for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Farwell still faces life in prison if convicted.
Birchmore was eight to 10 weeks pregnant and carrying a boy when she died, prosecutors have said. She believed Farwell was the father, but DNA analysis revealed he was not, The Boston Globe reported.
Farwell first encountered Birchmore after she joined a program run by the Stoughton Police to teach young people about law enforcement careers, where he was a volunteer and later an instructor.
Birchmore was 12 years old when she signed up in 2010. Prosecutors say he began sexually abusing her at 15, below the age of consent in Massachusetts.
More news about the Sandra Birchmore case
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