Upcoming hearing for ex-Stoughton officer accused of killing Sandra Birchmore canceled. Here's why

An upcoming hearing for Matthew Farwell, the former Stoughton police detective accused of grooming Sandra Birchmore as a teen and then killing her when she became pregnant with his child as an adult, has been canceled after he agreed to remain in custody.

A federal magistrate judge on Monday granted Farwell's motion for voluntary order of detention and canceled Thursday's scheduled hearing in the case. Farwell had requested a "voluntary order of detention without prejudice," allowing him to stay in custody while retaining his right to request a detention hearing at a later date so his attorney could have more time to work through the details of the case.

He is now scheduled to return to court for a status conference on Oct. 17.

Farwell is facing federal charges in the death of Birchmore, who was found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts, apartment in 2021. She was three months pregnant. Farwell is accused of strangling her and then staging her body and apartment to make the death appear as if she committed suicide.

Also on Monday, the judge approved a motion filed by prosecutors asking the court to enter a protective order restricting the use and dissemination of information in the case, including crime scene photographs depicting Birchmore's body, autopsy photos, Birchmore's phone and laptop extractions, Birchmore's medical records and any police reports identifying witnesses by name.

Prosecutors said they don't want Farwell to be allowed to review those materials unless in the presence of his lawyer or other members of the defense team "to prevent the unauthorized dissemination or distribution of this Protected Information which the government believes could expose the victim or witnesses to significant safety and/or privacy risks."

Farwell's attorney did not object to the motion.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.

A timeline of the Sandra Birchmore case

Sandra Birchmore joined the Stoughton Police Explorers Academy in 2010, when she was 12. She died 11 years later, with the state medical examiner's office ruling the death a suicide.

An internal investigation followed, and the department said in 2022 that Farwell and two other Stoughton officers had inappropriate sexual relationships with Birchmore, with Farwell accused of starting to see her when she was 15.

The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office didn't bring charges against Farwell or the other two officers — both have denied wrongdoing, and they are not facing charges in federal court.

The department turned the results of the investigation over to prosecutors. Investigators said at the time that there was no foul play in Birchmore’s death.

All three officers resigned before they were interviewed as part of the Stoughton police investigation, police said. County prosecutors eventually handed over the investigation to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office; their probe was still ongoing as of Wednesday.

But the U.S. Attorney's Office says it reviewed existing evidence and uncovered new evidence that led to Farwell's grand jury indictment on a charge of killing a witness or victim.

In the indictment against Farwell, federal prosecutors allege that he killed Birchmore with the intention of covering up possible federal crimes.

Evidence for the theory that Birchmore was killed was first brought forward in a legal proceeding earlier this year.

In June, Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara wrote a statement to the Stoughton community on a report that left her "profoundly disturbed and troubled" from a pathologist hired by Birchmore's family as part of a civil lawsuit.

While NBC10 Boston has not reviewed the report, The Boston Globe reported that, in it, a former New York City chief medical examiner found that Birchmore's death was a homicide, not a suicide. Without mentioning its findings, McNamara said that the report warranted further high-level examination.