Defense experts challenge strangling evidence in Farwell murder trial
Two specialists are set to argue that Sandra Birchmore's injuries are consistent with hanging and that phone data does not prove the defendant killed her.
By Riya Zhao ·
The defense in the Matthew Farwell murder trial will close its case Wednesday with expert testimony designed to counter the prosecution's claim that the former detective strangled Sandra Birchmore. Two specialists, Dr. Thomas Andrew and Daniel Loper, will take the stand to offer alternative explanations for the physical and digital evidence.
Farwell, 41, is accused of killing Birchmore, who was 23 and pregnant, in her Canton apartment on Feb. 4, 2021. Prosecutors allege he killed her to stop her from revealing a criminal sexual relationship they began when she was 15 and he was 27. Farwell has pleaded not guilty, maintaining that Birchmore had a long history of mental illness and took her own life.
Dr. Thomas Andrew, a forensic pathologist and New Hampshire's former chief medical examiner, will present the defense's primary medical argument. He asserts that Birchmore died by hanging. While he stated he could not determine the manner of death, court papers show he could not rule out suicide. This view directly conflicts with that of Dr. William Smock, an emergency medicine physician who concluded Birchmore was strangled.
The dispute centers on a fracture in Birchmore's hyoid bone. Smock argued that a fracture in a woman under 40, whose body was found seated with only partial weight on a duffel bag strap, indicates strangulation. Andrew plans to tell the jury that the body's positioning provided enough force to break the bone during a hang. He also noted that the pathologist who initially performed the autopsy did not detect hemorrhage in the bone, suggesting the break may have occurred after death.
A second point of contention involves an abrasion on Birchmore's chest. Smock testified that a lobster claw clasp on the duffel bag caused the mark, implying her body was moved after death because the clasp was found near a doorknob, far from the injury. Andrew plans to argue that involuntary muscle spasms during asphyxiation could have caused the abrasion when Birchmore's body contacted the closet door.
Daniel Loper, a digital forensics expert, will examine data from Birchmore's cellphones and laptops. Prosecution experts previously stated that Birchmore's phone stopped recording movement three minutes before Farwell left the building on Feb. 1, 2021. Loper is expected to testify that this data does not identify who was holding the device and will cite research questioning the reliability of step counts on iPhones.
Loper will also critique how law enforcement officers handled the digital evidence. The defense claims that manual reviews of Birchmore's laptop changed the data on the device, a process they say violated industry standards for collecting digital evidence. Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday morning, with the jury set to begin deliberations afterward.
