Headline: Masked Police Officer Seen Entering Sandra Birchmore’s Building on the Night She Died, Jury Hears

New surveillance footage has become a major focus in the federal trial of former Massachusetts police officer Matthew Farwell, who is accused of killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore in February 2021.

According to testimony reported by PEOPLE, jurors were shown footage that prosecutors say captures Farwell entering Birchmore’s apartment building in Canton, Massachusetts, at approximately 9:28 p.m. on February 1. He was wearing a hoodie and a face mask that obscured much of his face.

The footage reportedly shows him leaving around 9:56 p.m. Prosecutors highlighted the way he appeared to leave the building more hurriedly than he had entered.

Farwell had known Birchmore through a police youth program she joined as a teenager. Prosecutors allege that he sexually abused her when she was underage and later killed her after she told him she was pregnant and believed he was the father. They also allege that he staged the scene to make her death appear to be a suicide.

However, the case remains contested. Farwell has pleaded not guilty, and his defense maintains that Birchmore died by suicide. DNA testing later determined that he was not the biological father of her unborn child.

The footage is one part of the evidence jurors are being asked to consider as the trial continues. The central question remains what happened during Birchmore’s final hours—and whether the prosecution can prove its allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source: PEOPLE | The Boston Globe