# Suicide or murder? Trial opens for ex-Massachusetts officer charged in pregnant lover’s death

https://mins.news/en/item/94070

- CNN, 2026-10-10 02:06 UTC
- Society
- Original: https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/09/us/matthew-farwell-trial-sandra-birchmore?Date=20261010&Profile=CNN

> Jurors heard prosecutors allege that Farwell began having sex with Sandra Birchmore when she was 15, as his trial got underway. The ex-Massachusetts officer is charged over Birchmore’s 2021 death while pregnant; his lawyer says she took her own life.

## Related coverage

- [Trial begins for former officer accused of killing pregnant woman and staging suicide](https://mins.news/en/video/93400) — CBS News, 2026-10-09