Matthew Farwell seeks to add death penalty expert to defense team
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She was a part of the team that represented
Members of Dylan Roof's defense team, including Kimberly C. Stevens, far left. Lawyers for Matthew Farwell have sought to have Stevens, who has expertise in death penalty cases, on their team.
AP Photo/Chuck Burton
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Federal prosecutors have charged Farwell, 39, with killing a witness in relation to the death of Birchmore, whose body was found in her Canton apartment on Feb. 4, 2021.
The crime is eligible for the death penalty, though the Department of Justice hasn't indicated whether it will pursue that punishment.
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Spokespeople for the DOJ and United States attorney's office in Massachusetts didn't immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment.
Farwell has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in a detention center in Rhode Island. On Monday, he asked a judge to reschedule a hearing in his case set for next week. The proceeding is now scheduled for early August.
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Stevens and Farwell's other lawyers didn't immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment. Farwell is already
represented by federal public defenders Jane Peachy and Sandra Gant.
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On Monday, attorney Joanne M. Daley, an assistant federal public defender in Rhode Island, joined the defense team, court records show.
Farwell is accused of
strangling Birchmore, 23, and then staging the scene to look like a suicide. Birchmore was about three months pregnant when she died. The
Sandra Birchmore
Family photo
These
allegations are
bolstered by texts between the two that are part of the court record. Their sexual contact continued into her adult years, and she discussed wanting to have a child with Farwell, a married father, officials have said, citing the texts.
Also Tuesday, the state's law enforcement regulator hosted its first public proceeding concerning
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The Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission is seeking to suspend or revoke Heal's law enforcement certification.
Birchmore frequently shared deeply personal information with Heal, telling him about her sexual encounters with Farwell and others, court records show.
At a pre-hearing conference, Heal's lawyer, Peter S. Farrell said his client 'is likely going to resolve the case,' by agreeing not to seek renewal of his certification after it expires next Tuesday.
Heal, who resigned from Abington police in 2023, no longer works in law enforcement, but he doesn't intend to agree to decertification as did Farwell and his twin brother, William, another former Stoughton police officer, Farrell said.
Heal has put through the 'ringer' and has had difficulty staying employed because of his connection to Birchmore's case, Farrell said.
'I'll say this bluntly, directly, and to the point. Enough is enough,' he said.
Officers must be certified by the commission if they want to work in law enforcement in Massachusetts.
Shaun Martinez, an enforcement lawyer for POST, said he expects both sides will submit a proposed resolution for commissioners to consider at their meeting next month.
Heal, 45, met Birchmore in 2019 while he worked for Stoughton as an animal control officer. The same year, he had a consensual sexual encounter with Birchmore, 22, that occurred after business hours at Stoughton's animal control office, court records show.
Birchmore's estate named Heal in a wrongful death lawsuit, but he was dismissed from the case last year.
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