A former Stoughton police detective accused of killing Sandra Birchmore was formally arraigned Friday on new charges that he killed her unborn son.

Matthew Farwell , 40, did not attend the proceeding, which lasted just over two minutes. He had previously submitted paperwork offering not guilty pleas to a two-count indictment and waived his rights to attend the arraignment.

Farwell is accused of killing Birchmore, 23, in her Canton apartment on Feb. 1, 2021 and staging the scene to look like a suicide.

Birchmore and Farwell met through her participation in a Stoughton Police Department youth program known as police Explorers. She joined the program when she was 12 years old and Farwell, a former Explorer himself, served as an instructor.

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