Boston, Massachusetts - The federal trial of former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell for the death of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore hit a road bump on Monday as the jury passed a note to the judge saying they were deadlocked after nearly two days of deliberation, leading the judge to call in several alternate jurors.

Though Judge Denise Casper dismissed the jury for the night on Monday and ordered them to resume deliberations on Tuesday, things got a little heated before doing so.

Farwell is on trial in federal court and is being accused of killing a witness and causing the death of an unborn child. Birchmore was found dead in her Canton apartment in February 2021. The state initially ruled it a suicide before federal investigators got involved. They later officially changed her cause of death to undetermined.

Federal prosecutors said during trial that local police – which Farwell used to be a member of – failed to investigate the crime scene and instead took Farwell's account of events after a short parking lot conversation in which no notes were taken, and no video or images were recorded. This led federal investigators to get involved.

After roughly three weeks of in-depth testimony and evidence presentations in Farwell's trial, the jury began deliberations on Friday, November 6, and continued them today, Monday, November 9.

Per reports by the Boston Herald, the judge received a note from the jury around 4:15 PM local time on Monday that read, "We are in a deadlock, and it looks like we will not change any time soon."

The jury began deliberations around 2 PM on Friday.

According to a live update by ABC's local Boston news station WCVB, the jury was dismissed for the day around 4:30 PM and was ordered to return on Tuesday. Shortly after, Judge Casper brought in the four alternate jurors and instructed them to return on Tuesday, November 10, at 9 AM.

The prosecution and the defense both agreed they'd like the jury to continue deliberations on Tuesday. The court will stand in recess until it resumes on Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors are arguing that Farwell killed Birchmore to keep her from reporting their affair to his police department and federal agents, claiming their relationship started when she was a minor. The defense argues she killed herself after he tried to say her unborn child wasn't his and attempted to end the relationship.