BOSTON (WHDH) - The judge in Sandra Birchmore’s murder trial Monday denied a motion filed by former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell and his defense team to have the case dismissed.

Farwell’s attorney filed the motion last Thursday in federal court in South Boston to have the case dismissed. His defense argued the indictment failed to explain a federal offense, and lacked specificity to support the charges.

Farwell is accused of strangling and killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore, who was pregnant at the time, in her Canton apartment in 2021. Federal prosecutors argue he then staged her death to make it look like she committed suicide. He was arrested in August 2024, and later indicted in the death of Birchmore’s unborn baby.

Authorities said Farwell began a sexual relationship with Birchmore when she was 15-years-old and a student in his class for young people interested in law enforcement careers.

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