Testimony resumes in the federal murder trial of former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell, who is accused of killing Sandra Birchmore and her unborn baby. Stoughton Police Sgt. Robert Koon is expected back on the stand, while former Police Chief Donna McNamara and a friend of Birchmore could also testify.
A Stoughton police sergeant will take the stand
when the Matthew Farwell trial resumes this morning.
Farwell is a former Stoughton police detective in charge
with killing Sandra Birchmore and her unborn baby.
Boston 25 News reporter Ryan Breslin on scene at the federal
courthouse where eight witnesses have now taken the stand.
Today we'll hear more testimony
from Stoughton police sergeant Robert Kuhn.
We could also hear from former Stoughton police chief Donna McNamara
and a friend of Sandra Birchmore.
All day Tuesday, the focus was on one witness,
State Police Trooper Matthew Dunn.
Dunn investigated the death of Sandra Birchmore,
telling the prosecution he did not call it in as a suspicious death
and agreeing with the defense that he observed no signs of a struggle.
Dunn saying that after meeting with Birchmore's co-workers,
he and a State Police Sergeant, Sergeant Fanning,
interviewed Matthew Farwell in the parking lot of an elementary school.
No recordings or notes of the meeting were made.
Dunn telling jurors he learned later on that Farwell lied about how
long he and Birchmore were intimate and how their relationship started.
The prosecution asking, quote, after that interview,
did you go to the Stoughton Police Department
and interview the defendant's co-workers?
Quote, that same day, Dunn asked.
After that interview, said prosecutor Brian Fogarty.
No, Dunn replied.
Boston 25 legal expert Elise Hirschhorn weighs in on how questions
from the prosecution for Trooper Dunn differ from a typical trial.
This is a total role reversal, right?
So as a defense attorney and as a trial attorney myself,
usually we're trying to poke holes in the police investigation.
Well, in this case, it's actually the opposite.
This first trooper determined it was not a suspicious death, meaning
not a homicide, and he determined that it was most likely a suicide.
So, this actually hurts the prosecution's case, and the defense wants
to bolster this trooper because it supports their theory of the case.
Remember, Farwell's defense is that Birchmore died by suicide.
During cross-examination, the defense bringing up Birchmore's past
suicide attempt where she swallowed pills and a past suicide note.
A state toxicologist also took the stand Wednesday.
On scene in Boston,
Ryan Breslin for your local station, Boston 25 News.
Now, no cameras are allowed in federal court.
We're bringing you updates from inside
the courtroom throughout the trial.
You can find our live blog on our website, boston25news.com.
