Defense Expert Testifies on Hyoid Bone Fracture in Farwell Trial
Forensic anthropologist Heather Garvin told the jury that a neck fracture in Sandra Birchmore does not confirm strangulation, challenging the prosecution's medical theory.
By Owen Turner ·
The defense in the Matthew Farwell murder trial presented expert testimony on Monday to dispute the prosecution's claim that a fractured hyoid bone proves Sandra Birchmore was strangled rather than hanged herself.
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Heather Garvin took the stand to counter the state's medical examiner. She testified that the specific bone fracture found in Birchmore's neck is inconclusive on its own. Citing hundreds of studies, Garvin stated that the bone is "highly variable" and "inconsistent," adding that one "cannot draw any conclusions" from it alone.
Farwell faces charges for killing 23-year-old Birchmore and her unborn child. Prosecutors allege he staged the death as a suicide to prevent Birchmore from exposing federal crimes, including the sexual exploitation of a child. They claim he groomed her since she was 15 while she participated in the Stoughton Police Explorers program. Her body was discovered in a seated position with a strap tied to a doorknob. The defense maintains Birchmore took her own life.
During cross-examination, the prosecutor challenged Garvin's reliance on general studies by asking if any involved a person under 40 dying by seated hanging with a fractured hyoid bone. Garvin acknowledged that the studies did not analyze that specific combination. When pressed to find a matching case, she noted a table of age and frequency data but struggled to locate the exact demographic overlap. The prosecutor suggested the absence of such cases in the literature supported the prosecution's theory. Garvin replied that the researchers may simply not have analyzed that specific variable.
The state's previous expert testimony argued they had never seen that specific fracture in a seated hanging involving someone under 30, noting the bone is generally softer in younger individuals. Garvin's testimony aimed to show that the lack of definitive data does not rule out suicide as the cause of death.
The defense is scheduled to conclude its case on Wednesday. The judge plans to deliver jury instructions and send the case to the jury for deliberation on Friday.
Source: WHDH
