Overview
- Chief U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper on Friday rejected Farwell’s bid to move the trial to Rhode Island, leaving the case in the District of Massachusetts.
- Casper wrote that the publicity largely reports the government’s allegations and notes Farwell’s not-guilty plea, which she found insufficient to show juror prejudice.
- The federal trial is scheduled to begin in October 2026.
- Prosecutors allege Farwell killed 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore in 2021 to conceal a sexual relationship that began when she was underage, while Farwell contends she died by suicide, a conclusion previously reached by the state medical examiner and the Norfolk County district attorney.
- DNA testing has excluded Farwell as the father of Birchmore’s unborn child, and prosecutors have been directed not to seek the death penalty, though a life sentence remains possible if he is convicted.