BOSTON (WHDH) - Testimony continued in the Matthew Farwell trial Thursday morning.
Prosecutors allege Farwell killed Sandra Birchmore, 23, to keep her from going public with their relationship that authorities say started when she was 15 years old and was part of a Stoughton Police mentoring program.
Embattled Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara testified. McNamara said her department opened an investigation following Birchmore’s death and that it was an internal affairs investigation since the death didn’t happen in Stoughton.
Leslie Davis, a friend of Sandra Birchmore, also took the stand on Thursday.
Davis testified that Birchmore told her about Farwell when she was 15 and said he was someone that “helped her with homework.”
David said she knew about the pregnancy and claims Birchmore said it was the “happiest time of her life.”
Matthew Dunne, a state police detective, took the stand for much of the day Wednesday, describing the early days in the Birchmore murder case, and why certain steps were not taken.
On the stand, referring to Birchmore’s death, Dunne was asked, “Did you deem it suspicious?”, to which he answered “no”.
Dunne said he did not attend Birchmore’s autopsy because “there was no suspicion of foul play.”
Federal prosecutors say former Stoughton Police Officer Farwell staged the scene to look like a suicide.
Birchmore was pregnant at the time.
Dunne testified that he and his supervisor questioned Farwell after learning of the relationship, wondering if he would admit going to her apartment the night she died, as they had seen in this video evidence.
Asked by the prosecution what reason Farwell gave for going to Birchmore’s apartment the night in question, Dunne said:
“The account he provided is that he went over there to break up with her.”
Prosecutors showed jurors a necklace worn by Birchmore that investigators didn’t find on her, but was later found broken at the scene.
Dunne testified there were no signs of a struggle and no suicide note.
He testified that during the investigation, he learned that Farwell had put his hands on Birchmore’s neck before: “At some point there was suggested there was choking that took place between the two of them.”
DNA testing found Farwell was not the father of Birchmore’s child.
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