The jury in the Matthew Farwell trial heard two versions of February 2021 on Friday. The prosecution told them Sandra Birchmore was “happy and excited” about her future, pregnant with a baby she and Farwell believed was his, and that Farwell strangled her and staged a suicide. The defense told them she took her own life. “Matthew Farwell did not kill Sandra Birchmore,” defense attorney Kimberly Stevens said in her first words to the jury, according to NBC10 Boston.
Testimony begins Tuesday, October 13, in federal court in Boston. Opening statements are not evidence, as Chief Judge Denise Casper reminded jurors. But they are each side’s promise about what the evidence will show, and they reveal what this trial will turn on. Here is what the jury heard, and what the government has to prove. Farwell has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent.
The jury
Sixteen people, 12 jurors and four alternates, were sworn in at about 9:34 a.m. Friday, NBC10 reported. The panel is 10 men and six women, WHDH reported. They were chosen from more than 400 people who filled out a questionnaire, about 80 of whom were questioned individually. The trial is expected to last about five weeks.
The prosecution’s opening
Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey Cummings delivered the government’s opening, according to NBC10’s live coverage. Her account, as reported by NBC10 and WHDH:
- How it began. Farwell met Birchmore through the Stoughton police Explorers program, where she was “the littlest one” in a group photo shown to jurors. He sent her a Facebook friend request in 2012, and the two first had sex a year later, when she was 15 and he was 27, Cummings said.
- The motive. As she got older, prosecutors said, Birchmore realized she was a victim and a witness. She became upset when she learned Farwell’s wife was pregnant and threatened to expose the relationship unless he got her pregnant too. When she did become pregnant, prosecutors said, she was “ecstatic,” told some 80 people, bought baby items, made prenatal appointments and went back on an antidepressant to care for her mental health.
- The report to police. A friend of Birchmore’s called the Stoughton Police Department and told a dispatcher about the relationship. “He was meeting her for sex while he was supposed to be working,” Cummings said. Jurors were shown a text in which Farwell wrote, “You’re [expletive] friend called my job, Sandra.”
- The killing. Prosecutors showed jurors surveillance images of Farwell entering her building wearing a mask and hood. They said he strangled her with a duffel bag strap, then tied one end to a door handle and placed her body in a seated position by a closet door to make it look as if she had hanged herself. Cummings said this happened on February 1, the day before Farwell’s wife gave birth to a son.
- Her last hour. In her last hour alive, Cummings said, Birchmore searched for baby showers and talked to a friend who said she sounded normal.
The defense opening
Stevens delivered her first lines standing beside Farwell with her arm around his shoulder, NBC10 reported. The defense case, as reported by NBC10 and WHDH:
- Suicide. The defense will argue Birchmore died by suicide, as the medical examiner originally ruled.
- Her history. Stevens told jurors Birchmore had a history of suicidal thoughts.
- Her searches and texts. Birchmore searched online for “What color is the suicide ribbon?” before her death, Stevens said. She read texts Birchmore allegedly sent Farwell the day before she died about feeling sick and being unable to sleep, and texts the day of her death saying she was stressed and “freaking out.”
- Isolation. Birchmore spent Thanksgiving and Christmas alone and was worried about the pregnancy, Stevens said.
What the government has to prove
Farwell is not charged with murder under Massachusetts law. He faces two federal counts in case 1:24-cr-10259-DJC, which we read when we previewed the trial:
- Count One: killing a witness or victim, 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(1)(C). The indictment alleges he killed Birchmore “with malice aforethought, willfully, deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation, and with the intent to prevent the communication by any person to a law enforcement officer of information relating to the commission or possible commission of a federal offense.”
- Count Two: the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1841. It alleges that in violating § 1512 he “caused the death of a child in utero.”
That structure explains both openings. The government must prove two things beyond a reasonable doubt: that Farwell killed Birchmore, and that he did it to keep information about federal crimes from reaching law enforcement. That is why Cummings spent so much of her opening on the years before the death, the friend’s call to Stoughton police and Farwell’s angry text. Those are the government’s evidence of motive and intent.
The defense only needs reasonable doubt on the first element. If the jury is not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that this was a homicide at all, the motive does not matter. That is why the defense opening focused almost entirely on Birchmore’s state of mind in her final days.
What to watch when testimony starts
- The medical evidence. The medical examiner originally ruled the death a suicide; the manner of death has since been changed to undetermined. The jury is expected to hear competing medical opinions on how she died.
- The timeline. Prosecutors have said video shows Farwell entering at 9:14 p.m. and leaving at 9:43 p.m., three minutes after her phone’s last recorded movement. The defense’s digital forensics expert, Daniel Loper, is expected to testify about activity on her laptop that night if the judge allows it.
- Birchmore’s own words. The judge has allowed her diary entries and testimony from people close to her. Both sides will use her words, one to show she was planning a future, the other to show she was in crisis.
Follow every development on our Farwell trial tracker.
Frequently asked questions
What happened in the Matthew Farwell trial opening statements?
On October 9, 2026, Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey Cummings told jurors Farwell strangled a pregnant Sandra Birchmore and staged a suicide to keep her from exposing their relationship, which began when she was 15. Defense attorney Kimberly Stevens said Birchmore died by suicide, citing her history and her texts and searches before her death.
When does testimony start in the Farwell trial?
Tuesday, October 13, 2026. There is no court Monday because of the federal holiday. The trial is expected to last about five weeks.
Is Matthew Farwell charged with murder?
Not under that name. He is charged federally with killing a witness or victim to prevent communication with law enforcement, 18 U.S.C. 1512(a)(1)(C), and with causing the death of a child in utero, 18 U.S.C. 1841. He has pleaded not guilty.
Who is on the Farwell jury?
Twelve jurors and four alternates, 10 men and six women, chosen from more than 400 people summoned.
Sources: NBC10 Boston live coverage and WHDH, October 9, 2026; Boston 25 News headline coverage. Superseding indictment, United States v. Farwell, No. 1:24-cr-10259-DJC (D. Mass.), as reviewed for our September trial preview; earlier timeline details from WCVB’s reporting on prosecution filings. Opening statements are not evidence. WHDH spells the defense attorney’s name “Stephens”; we use NBC10’s spelling pending confirmation. Matthew Farwell is presumed innocent. General information about the law, not legal advice.