Former Massachusetts police officer Matthew Farwell was convicted of murdering Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child.

What it means

Former Massachusetts police officer Matthew Farwell was convicted of murdering Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child. Farwell, a former Stoughton police detective, had been grooming and sexually exploiting Birchmore since she was 15 and killed her in 2021 to prevent her from testifying against him. The federal conviction carries a potential life sentence.

Accuracy & sourcesGrounded

The claim is solid, based on a jury verdict reported by multiple reputable news outlets and confirmed by a U.S. Department of Justice press release. The primary source is the DOJ announcement of the conviction, and the reporting sits close to that primary source.

How new

This is genuinely new, as the conviction was reported on November 10–11, 2026.

Go deeper

• CBS News — first to publish