Federal prosecutors on Tuesday announced they would not seek the death penalty against a former Stoughton police detective accused of killing a young pregnant woman whom he allegedly began sexually exploiting when she was 15 years old and her unborn son.

The decision marks a reprieve for Matthew Farwell , who is accused of killing Sandra Birchmore , 23, a former participant in a Stoughton Police Department youth program who was found dead in her Canton apartment on Feb. 4, 2021.

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi instructed federal prosecutors in Massachusetts not to seek the death penalty for Farwell, court records show. The one-sentence notice didn’t elaborate on the decision.

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Former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell Uncredited/Associated Press

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