Sandra Birchmore’s therapist says her client never appeared suicidal, rejecting attempts by ex-cop Matthew Farwell’s defense to portray the young pregnant woman as hallucinating.
Diala Alkhalil, a licensed mental health counselor, testified Friday that she met with Birchmore the day before her client died, with her long-time client presenting as her “bubbly, vibrant self.”
“She seemed like her old self in a sense,” Alkhalil said of Birchmore, recounting the Jan. 31, 2021 appointment. “She was not entirely wired with the anxiety.”
Birchmore, however, reported to the therapist that she feared something was about to happen to her in her Canton apartment.
Those worries, Alkhalil testified, stemmed from what Birchmore described as a “visit from her mom,” as her deceased mother “often appeared in her bedroom.” In those moments, Birchmore said her room would get cold and her mother would appear carrying a baby.
“That really scared Sandra,” Alkhalil said. “She thought her mom was warning her that something bad was going to happen to the baby. … She would put the covers over her head and say, ‘Go away, please go away.’”
Alkhalil told Assistant U.S. Attorney Torrey B. Cummings that Birchmore never hallucinated and never saw or heard things that were not there.
Birchmore’s next appointment with Alkhalil was scheduled for Feb. 4, 2021.
The therapist recounted “going pale” when her 23-year-old client missed her 3 p.m. appointment, testifying that Birchmore was “never late” for sessions and would always reschedule immediately if needed.
Hours later, an unknown number left a voicemail on Alkhalil’s phone alerting her that Birchmore was dead.
“I was in shock and disbelief,” the therapist told Cummings, adding that she did not consider Birchmore’s death a suicide because her client “seemed to be doing okay” during their final session.
Alkhalil was further surprised when she learned the death had been ruled a suicide by what prosecutors termed “some people.”
The therapist responded “no” when Cummings asked whether Massachusetts State Police ever reached out to her about Birchmore’s death. Instead, Alkhalil said she called them.
“When you reached out to the State Police,” Cummings asked, “did you want to share information with them?”
Alkhalil responded, “Yes.”
Chief U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper sustained a defense objection when Cummings asked Alkhalil: “Did that include information about Matt?”
Prosecutors argue that Farwell groomed Birchmore from childhood, engaged in an abusive relationship, and ultimately killed her and her unborn son before staging her apartment to look like a suicide.
Farwell’s defense counters that Birchmore died by suicide in her Canton apartment on the night of Feb. 1, 2021, shortly after Farwell ended their relationship and told her he was not the father of her unborn child.
Joanne Daley, one of Farwell’s federal public defenders, peppered Alkhalil with questions regarding Birchmore’s accounts of her mother visiting her apartment. Birchmore’s mother, Denise, died in May 2016 at age 52 following an illness.
“She described it as a visit,” Alkhalil told Daley.
Daley shot back: “But her deceased mother wasn’t actually visiting her?”
The therapist explained: “Sandra felt her mother’s spirit was coming to visit her.” Alkhalil added that while she didn’t “endorse” what her client experienced, she was “respectful of her belief.”
“Was that a hallucination?” Daley asked.
“No,” Alkhalil responded. “Sandra never had a history of that. That is seeing or hearing voices that are not there. After her mom passed, a few times she reported these visits from her mom.”
“I’m just a lawyer,” Daley quipped.
Alkhalil fired back: “It’s okay. I’m just a therapist.”
When she learned about Birchmore’s sexual relationship with Farwell, Alkhalil said she became immediately concerned and that their bond wasn’t “going towards the goals she had in her life.” The therapist called the relationship “very transactional,” as it seemed the cop was only in it for a hookup in the middle of the night.
Despite those concerns, Alkhalil supported Birchmore, sharing that her client started planning how she’d teach her baby Spanish after buying Spanish books on Amazon
“When she was talking about being pregnant,” Alkhalil said of Birchmore, “she felt it was now or never because of her medical conditions. She was ecstatic that it was a successful pregnancy. She was over the moon at having this baby. There was a lot of future planning.”
Alkhalil is set to return to the stand on Monday.
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