A federal judge on Thursday set a deadline of early next year for federal prosecutors to decide whether they will seek the death penalty for a former Stoughton police detective accused of killing a young pregnant woman whom he allegedly began sexually exploiting when she was 15 years old.

Chief Judge Denise J. Casper said the US Department of Justice must render its decision about capital punishment in the case of Matthew Farwell by Jan. 20.

She scheduled Farwell’s trial to begin on Oct. 5, 2026.

Casper told prosecutors and Farwell’s defense lawyers that they should expect to be ready for trial by that date regardless of whether the federal government seeks the death penalty. The trial is estimated to last four weeks.

Farwell, 39, is charged with a single count of killing a witness

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