[FOLLOW ALONG WITH LIVE UPDATES FROM COURT HERE]
A highly-anticipated witness is expected to take the stand today in former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell’s trial.
Jason Pickard, who DNA results revealed is the father of Sandra Birchmore’s unborn child, is preparing to testify Thursday, marking the first time anyone has heard the U.S. Army recruiter’s story.
Through all of the texts Birchmore sent and conversations she had, it appears she believed Farwell, not Pickard, was the father.
Farwell is accused of killing a pregnant Birchmore at her Canton apartment in February 2021 and staging her death as a suicide.
Farwell’s defense team has said Birchmore killed herself because she was upset Farwell ended their relationship — one that prosecutors say started when Birchmore was 15 years old and Farwell was 27.
Prosecutors allege that Farwell killed Birchmore to prevent her from exposing the details of their relationship.
Jurors heard Wednesday from a woman who says she was a good friend of Farwell’s — Stoughton Police Detective Sandra Barrett. She told the jury she noticed Farwell being agitated and stressed out in the days leading up to Birchmore’s death, texting a lot and taking private calls at work. She says she confronted him and he said, “he was having trouble with a female who wasn’t his wife. He believed the problem was going to take care of itself.”
The jury also heard from Birchmore’s former hairdresser, Shauna McGrath, who testified that Birchmore was making plans for the future, countering the defense’s claim that she was planning to end her life. After Birchmore’s death, she says she called the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office to let them know Birchmore was involved with a Stoughton police officer. It’s unclear what the DA’s office did with that information.
