Lawyers for the former Stoughton police officer accused of grooming, then killing, Sandra Birchmore are asking a judge to move his forthcoming trial to Providence, Rhode Island, claiming the intense publicity around the case has made it impossible for him to get a fair trial in Massachusetts.
In a memo filed in federal court on Monday, attorney Kimberly Stevens provided what amounts to the first glimpse of Matthew Farwell’s defense strategy. Farwell, who was arrested last August and charged with a single count of killing a witness or victim, has not appeared in court since. Stevens has declined to speak to reporters, citing the rules of professional conduct for lawyers in Massachusetts.
The filing notes that Birchmore’s death was ruled a suicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and that despite the federal charges against Farwell, the manner of death listed on her death certificate has never changed…