Girlfriend strangled to death

She was pregnant by him: Cop killed affair (23)

Matthew Farwell led a double life and allegedly murdered his 23-year-old girlfriend in 2022. He pleaded not guilty.(Bild: AP/AP, Krone KREATIV)

More than two years ago, the body of Sandra Birchmore (23) was discovered in Stoughton in the US state of Massachusetts. Initially it was assumed that she had committed suicide. A few days ago, however, a police officer was arrested as a strong suspect in the murder of the pregnant woman.

Birchmore had taken part in a police open day as a schoolgirl. In October 2012, the then 15-year-old received a Facebook friend request from her future murderer.

The then 27-year-old police officer Matthew Farwell began to manipulate the minor via chat and establish an abusive relationship with her.

"Rape fantasies" and "addiction to control"
This toxic liaison went on for years and was characterized by the officer's "rape fantasies" and "addiction to control". While Farwell acted out his deviant tendencies with Birchmore, friends and acquaintances saw him as a loving family man with a wife and three children.

Victim became pregnant - affair threatened to be exposed
The double life threatened to be exposed when Sandra Birchmore became pregnant. News reports show that she wanted to officially register the giant police officer as the father on her birth certificate. On January 30, 2021, she asked him about possible baby names, to which Farwell replied that they should rather discuss this in person.

Two days later, the planned meeting took place in the pregnant woman's apartment, where Farwell suffocated her and arranged the scene to make it look like a suicide. It is not yet known how investigators managed to track down the police officer.

Attorney Joshua S. Levy stated on August 28 that Farwell faces life in prison.(Bild: AP/Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP)

Farwell faces life in prison
After the arrest on August 28, 2024, the district attorney's office merely stated that new evidence had led to the arrest. Farwell faces life imprisonment in Massachusetts.