Matthew Farwell defense calls expert witnesses to raise doubt about Sandra Birchmore's manner of death

Matthew Farwell's defense team began the second week of their case by calling expert witnesses to raise doubt over the government's theory that the former Stoughton police officer murdered 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore and her unborn baby in her Canton apartment in 2021, and staged her death to look like a suicide.

First, Farwell's defense team called Dr. Bill Ralston, the Chief Medical Examiner in Kentucky. Ralston challenged the credentials of the prosecution's forensic witness, Dr. William Smock, claiming he never performed autopsies. On cross examination, Ralston admitted that Smock has provided forensic consulting for the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office.

Smock testified for the government that he believes Birchmore died by homicide due to the fracture in her hyoid bone, a bone located in the neck. Smock told the court it would be rare for the bone to fracture in cases of suicide.

Defense expert and anthropologist, Dr. Heather Garvin, refuted Smock's analysis on Birchmore's hyoid bone. 

"Looking at the hyoid bone fracture and the anatomy, there is nothing to indicate one mechanism or another. You cannot say," Garvin said.

Garvin cited literature on suicide-related injuries but never analyzed Sandra's actual hyoid. On cross-examination, she told the court that it is true that hyoid fractures are more frequently caused by strangulation than suicide by hanging. Birchmore was found hanging from a door in a seated position.

The defense's final witness of the day, forensic scientist Dr. Alicia McCarthy, disagreed with some of Smock's methodology and conclusions. Smock testified that an injury to Birchmore's chest was caused by a clasp on the duffel bag strap that was used to hang her but that the clasp was not found near her chest, suggesting Birchmore's hanging was staged. McCarthy testified that she could not conclude with certainty what caused the injury to Birchmore's chest.

Birchmore and Farwell met when she was 13 in the Stoughton Police Explorer's program. The government alleges that Farwell began a sexual relationship with her when she was 15. Federal prosecutors argue that Farwell killed Birchmore and her unborn child to prevent her from reporting his alleged crimes to law enforcement. Farwell has pleaded not guilty to his charges.