The federal trial of Matthew Farwell took a significant turn Thursday as Jason Pickard, a former U.S. Army recruiter, made his first public appearance to testify about his relationship with Sandra Birchmore and the circumstances surrounding her 2021 death. Pickard, who was revealed through DNA testing in 2025 to be the father of Birchmore’s unborn child, provided a testimony that focused on Birchmore’s excitement about motherhood and the erratic behavior of the man now accused of her murder.
Farwell, 40, is currently on trial facing charges that he killed the 23-year-old Birchmore and her unborn fetus on February 1, 2021. Prosecutors allege that Farwell strangled Birchmore in her apartment and staged the scene to resemble a suicide. The motive, according to the government, was to silence Birchmore and prevent the disclosure of years of sexual exploitation and grooming that allegedly began when she was just 15 years old. Farwell has pleaded not guilty, with his defense team maintaining that Birchmore, struggling with mental health issues and a failing relationship, took her own life.
Pickard’s testimony was delivered under an immunity agreement, as he admitted that his sexual relationship with Birchmore violated military law on multiple fronts, including prohibitions against recruiters having relationships with recruits and general adultery. Pickard, appearing in court wearing glasses and a torso brace due to a back injury, told jurors he had previously declined to answer FBI questions before securing the legal protection. He testified that Birchmore had disclosed to him that her relationship with Farwell began when she was a minor, a detail that aligns with the prosecution’s narrative of statutory rape and grooming.
A central point of contention in the trial is the paternity of Birchmore’s child and what the involved parties knew at the time of her death. While Pickard is now confirmed to be the father, federal prosecutors contend that both Birchmore and Farwell were operating under the belief that Farwell was the father in the weeks leading up to February 1. The defense, however, argues that Farwell was confident he was not the father and had communicated this to Birchmore, suggesting he had no motive to kill her to cover up a pregnancy he did not claim.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Joanne Daley highlighted a series of text messages between Pickard and Birchmore sent a week before her death. After a doctor adjusted her due date, Birchmore asked Pickard to keep “our secrets.” While Pickard testified he assumed she was referring to their illicit affair, the defense suggested the “secrets” might have been Birchmore’s own uncertainty or knowledge regarding the child’s paternity. Pickard maintained that Birchmore never explicitly told him he was the father during her lifetime.
Pickard’s testimony also directly challenged the defense’s portrayal of Birchmore as a suicidal young woman. When asked by prosecutor Elizabeth Riley about her demeanor regarding the pregnancy, Pickard described her as “ecstatic” and denied that she ever expressed suicidal thoughts or signs of depression. This echoed the sentiment of other witnesses who described Birchmore as being looking forward to motherhood.
The court also heard from three other women who had consensual affairs with Farwell between 2012 and 2016. One of those women, Sheanna Isabel Zbinski, is a Stoughton police officer who was involved in the initial search for Birchmore when she failed to appear for work. Prosecutors utilized these testimonies to contrast Farwell’s behavior with other women against his actions with Birchmore. For instance, the defense has acknowledged Farwell wore a mask when visiting Birchmore’s apartment on the night she died, claiming he wanted to keep their relationship secret. Prosecutors pointed out that he did not wear masks or demand the deletion of text messages with his other partners.
The federal case against Farwell relies on proving he killed Birchmore to prevent her from reporting a series of federal crimes. These include coercion and enticement involving sexual abuse, deprivation of rights under color of law—alleging Farwell used his position as a police officer to exploit her—and wire fraud related to meeting her for sex while he was on duty. Though state authorities initially ruled Birchmore’s death a suicide, a federal investigation sharpened years later following intervention from police and civilians, leading to Farwell’s arrest in August 2024.
As the trial continues, the prosecution expects to rest its case as early as next Wednesday. The testimony of Pickard, despite his own legal vulnerabilities, remains a cornerstone of the effort to establish the complex web of relationships and the alleged climate of fear and concealment that preceded Birchmore’s death.
