Matthew Farwell pleads not guilty in deaths of Sandra Birchmore, unborn baby

The former Stoughton cop accused of killing Sandra Birchmore was arraigned Friday on fresh charges that include the killing of her unborn baby Matthew Farwell was not present at his arraignment on a superseding indictment that appended the charge related to the death of the unborn baby His attorneys had filed a waiver of appearance and a reading of the indictment Not guilty pleas to each charge were entered on his behalf during the brief hearing in federal court in Boston before Magistrate Judge M Page Kelley Federal government arrested and charged Farwell with Birchmore s killing in August of last year Prosecutors last month unsealed a new indictment charging him with the death of the unborn baby which Birchmore excitedly reported him was his according to the feds Prosecutors say the baby s gestational age was between eight and weeks Government say that Farwell met Birchmore when as a child she joined the Police Explorers Academy a youth plan run by the Stoughton Police Department for which Farwell taught He briskly developed a relationship with the girl years his junior according to the indictment and that relationship turned sexual when Birchmore skipped a school event to lose her virginity to Farwell when she was years old Birchmore learned she was pregnant in late December about a month before she would die Birchmore informed Farwell it was his baby according to this indictment and he didn t take the news well Prosecutors say that Farwell on Feb entered Birchmore s Canton apartment and strangled her to death as he knew she was weeks pregnant He then staged the apartment to make it look like Birchmore had committed suicide State functionaries ruled the death a suicide but then-U S Attorney Joshua Levy stated that federal prosecutors had retained their own examiner who disagreed with that ruling While Massachusetts does not have a death penalty Farwell can face such a penalty in federal court Farwell added death penalty defense specialist Kimberly Stevens to his gang in June