Former Stoughton police officer charged with murder of Sandra Birchmore while pregnant

STOUGHTON – Former Stoughton, Massachusetts police detective Matthew Farwell is accused of killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore in 2021 while she was pregnant with the child she told him was his.

A grand jury indictment filed Tuesday in federal court says Farwell strangled Birchmore in her Canton apartment and then staged the scene to make it look like she had committed suicide. Her death was previously ruled a suicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell charged

The indictment states that Farwell had “sexual intercourse and other sexual acts with Birchmore” before she turned 16. Birchmore had joined a youth program for children interested in a career in law enforcement called the Stoughton Police Explorers Academy in 2012, where Farwell was a volunteer instructor.

Federal prosecutors allege that Farwell “abused his authority and access to manipulate, sexually exploit, and ultimately sexually abuse Birchmore when she was 15 years old and continued to have sex with her as she became an adult.” He was 27 at the time of the alleged assault.

“During several shifts when FARWELL was supposed to be performing his duties as a Stoughton police officer, he instead engaged in sexual conduct with Birchmore,” the indictment states.

Birchmore told Farwell he was the child's father after learning she was pregnant in December 2020, the indictment states. A friend of hers called Stoughton police on or about Jan. 20, 2021, and reported that Farwell had had sex with Birchmore.

A police department employee informed Farwell of the call, and days later, on February 4, 2021, Birchmore was found dead, the indictment states.

“When it became clear that Mr. Farwell could no longer control Sandra Birchmore, he allegedly silenced her permanently,” Joshua Levy, acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, said at a press conference. “He allegedly tried to cover his tracks so he could literally get away with murder. And he almost succeeded, to this day.”

According to the prosecution, Sandra Birchmore did not die by suicide

An affidavit by FBI Special Agent Chenee Castruita details the victim's final days, saying the evidence suggests Farwell “was hatching a plan to murder Birchmore.”

Birchmore texted someone that Farwell had asked for a key to her apartment the week before her death. She told the person it was “really weird” that Farwell had come over and looked in her closet and bathroom.

According to the affidavit, officers found Birchmore dead with the strap of a duffel bag tied around her neck, which was connected to the closet door that Farwell had examined. The affidavit also states that a doctor interviewed by federal prosecutors made findings “that call into question the previous determination that Birchmore's cause of death was suicide and instead confirm that Birchmore's cause of death was homicide.”

“We believe Matthew Farwell's conduct, as set forth in today's indictment, is reprehensible and represents a gross betrayal of his oath and the public trust,” said Stephen Kelleher, assistant special agent in charge of FBI Boston. “Let me be clear: Matthew Farwell's gun and badge did not give him the authority to violate the Constitution.”

“Horrible injustice”

Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara said her department is working with the FBI on the investigation.

“The alleged murder of Sandra is a horrific injustice,” she said in a statement. “The allegations against the suspect, a former Stoughton police officer, represent the worst case of not only professional misconduct but human indecency that I have witnessed in my nearly three-decade career in law enforcement.”

Canton police and state police in the Norfolk District Attorney's Office initially investigated Birchmore's death, ruling it a suicide and apparently missing surveillance footage and text messages that placed Farwell at the crime scene.

A group of people held signs outside a federal courthouse on Wednesday saying they believe Norfolk County investigators should be held accountable. “This charge should have been brought a long time ago. It should never have gone on this long,” said protester Allison Taggart.

Levy declined to comment on the investigation so far. “This case is about what went wrong with Sandra Birchmore, how she was treated by Matthew Farwell, how he violated her rights and ultimately killed her. That's what this case is about. It's not about what's happening in other state agencies,” Levy said.

A spokesman for Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey said Wednesday that the Birchmore case is still “open and active.”

“This work involved working with local police, the Commonwealth Attorney General and the FBI, as each agency has unique resources and responsibilities. Two officers from the Norfolk District Attorney's Office assigned to the State Police were at the operation's command post when the arrest was made in Revere,” said spokesman David Traub. “We look forward to assisting and supporting federal authorities in their pursuit of these charges.”

Matthew Farwell arrested in Revere

A SWAT team arrested Farwell Wednesday morning at a Revere shopping center where he was driving a gravel truck. He faces up to life in prison if found guilty of murdering a witness or victim, and the death penalty is possible in that case, Levy said.

“Whether to seek the death penalty in a federal case is a decision that is made at the highest level of the Department of Justice,” he said. “The decision on whether to seek the death penalty in this case has not yet been made and the trial is continuing, but beyond that I cannot comment.”

Farwell pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in federal court on Wednesday and was ordered held without bail. A detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10.

Other officials involved in the Sandra Birchmore case

The former officers Farwell, his twin brother William Farwell and Robert Devine were found to be violate departmental policies in 2022 after a 19-month investigation. Investigators said the trio exhibited a “deeply disturbing pattern of behavior” toward Birchmore.

No other Stoughton police officers were named in the new indictment. Levy said only that it was an “ongoing matter.”

In June, the Boston Globe reported that Birchmore's family had filed a civil lawsuit against the Stoughton Police Department, the city and the three former police officers. A pathologist hired by the family said her death was homicide by strangulation.

In response, Chief McNamara said she was “deeply concerned and concerned” about the findings and that they “certainly warrant further scrutiny at the highest level”.