BOSTON (WHDH) - The state medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Sandra Birchmore in 2021 took the witness stand in the Matthew Farwell murder trial Monday, and the therpist who treated Birchmore for more than eight years also finished her testimony.
Farwell is charged with killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child and staging the death to look like a suicide. Prosecutors allege Farwell killed her to stop her from exposing federal crimes, including sexual exploitation of a child. They claim Farwell had been grooming her for sex since she was 15-years-old and part of the Stoughton Police Explorers mentoring program.
Farwell’s defense argues that Birchmore took her own life.
Canton police discovered Birchmore in her apartment on February 4, 2021 while performing a well-being check. They said they found her dead with a strap around her neck, tied to a doorknob.
Doctor Maria Del Mar Capo Martinez testified that she had limited information from police during her autopsy, which is why she initially ruled the case a suicide, with the cause “asphyxia by hanging.”
She was asked, over objections from Farwell’s defense team, whether the quality of a police investigation can impact her decisions on the manner of death.
“It can affect the way we do the manner, because we are dependent on other agencies to provide information,” Martinez said.
A federal investigation found there was evidence Farwell was having sex with Birchmore and had access to her apartment. They also found there was physical evidence pointing to a possible homicide. Her official death certificate was then amended to list the cause of death as asphyxia, and the manner undetermined.
The jury also heard about a Canton police report indicating Birchmore was found with a scarf around her neck, as well as a state police report that Martinez reviewed, with the header: “Birchmore suicide.”
Martinez said she was given no information on evidence that Birchmore’s death could have been a homicide.
The prosecution argues that a snapped necklace chain found in Birchmore’s apartment is evidence of a struggle between Birchmore and Farwell on the night she died.
“What, if any, information were you given about a necklace being broken on the front of her body?” an Assistant United States Attorney asked Martinez.
“At the time of the examination, I did not have any information regarding the necklace,” Martinez replied.
Martinez also testified that a mark on Birchmore’s chin could be an abrasion, though in her autopsy she did not note the mark.
Also on Monday, the therapist who treated Birchmore on and off for more than eight years completed her testimony. Mental Health Therapist Dalia Alkhahlil testified that she called police to express concerns there might have been foul play once she heard Birchmore’s death was ruled a suicide. She said Birchmore was excited to become a mother, she never appeared suicidal, and she was upbeat and bubbly the day before her death.
The therapist also rejected the defense’s suggestion that Birchmore was hallucinating.
A friend of Birchmore testified that nine months before her death, Birchmore messaged her on Facebook that she wanted to take her own life.
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