Overview
- Prosecutors say Matthew Farwell strangled Sandra Birchmore in her Canton apartment in 2021 and staged the scene to hide alleged long‑term sexual exploitation; he faces federal counts that include killing a witness and causing the death of an unborn child and could receive life in prison if convicted.
- The government relied on digital records, surveillance and expert testimony from Dr. William Smock, who told jurors that a fractured hyoid bone and other findings pointed to strangulation rather than suicide.
- This week the defense called multiple experts — including state medical examiners, forensic anthropologists, a DNA specialist and a digital‑forensics examiner — who testified the hyoid break and a chest mark are inconclusive and that Smock’s methods and qualifications merit doubt.
- Postmortem DNA testing shown at trial excluded Farwell as the father of Birchmore’s fetus and identified Jason Pickard, who has already testified under immunity; defense experts also questioned the interpretation of mixed DNA results and some lab procedures.
- Closing arguments and jury deliberations are expected imminently, and the outcome will decide not only Farwell’s fate but also whether questions about the original Stoughton investigation and oversight of the police Explorers program prompt wider institutional review.