Prosecutors Say Farwell’s DNA Found on Ligature in Birchmore Case

Overview

• Federal prosecutors told the court Monday that DNA matching Matthew Farwell was on the strap tied around Sandra Birchmore’s neck.
• Prosecutors argue the scene was staged to look like a suicide and urge the judge to keep Farwell in custody because they say he could flee or obstruct the case.
• Defense lawyers seek $50,000 bail and maintain Birchmore died by suicide, noting state officials earlier reached the same conclusion and that Farwell was not the fetus’s father.
• The filing cites witness accounts that Farwell appeared stressed and said a relationship “problem” would resolve itself, and it describes a secret sexual relationship that began when she was 15.
• Prosecutors say state investigators did not collect Farwell’s DNA until August 2024, and the federal case is now set for trial in October with a potential life sentence if he is convicted.