A former officer from the Massachusetts police force has been charged with the murder of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore in 2021. She had just told him that she was pregnant with his child. Federal officials said on Wednesday that Matthew Farwell, a former police officer with the Stoughton Police Department, is suspected of strangling Birchmore and making her death look like she killed herself. Now that the case is over, Farwell, 38, is charged with killing a witness or victim.
Prosecutors say Farwell started sexually abusing and grooming Birchmore when she was a child in the Stoughton Police Explorers Academy. This is a program for kids who want to learn about jobs in law enforcement. Farwell, a teacher in the program, is said to have started sexual relations with Birchmore when she was only 15 years old, even when he was at work.
Joshua Levy, assistant U.S. Attorney, spoke out against Farwell’s actions at a news conference. He said that Birchmore “survived years of grooming, statutory rape, and then sexual violence, all at the hands of Matthew Farwell.” Levy explained how Farwell became friends with Birchmore, started talking to him online, and then used his power to commit juvenile rape.
At the end of October 2020, Birchmore told Farwell that she wanted to have a child, which made their relationship worse. The court papers say that Farwell agreed to conceive her as long as she wouldn’t talk about their sexual meetings or his bad behavior. Birchmore told Farwell that the baby was his and started to ask about doctors’ visits and birth certificates because he was excited about the pregnancy. But Farwell allegedly became more unstable and dangerous as word of their relationship spread, and he lost control of the situation.
The police say Farwell killed Birchmore in her Canton, Massachusetts, apartment on February 1, 2021, when he could no longer handle things. Prosecutors think that Farwell forever shut her up because she knew about his illegal behavior and that it could hurt his career and reputation. In the weeks before Birchmore’s death, Farwell is said to have pushed her and choked her.
At first, Birchmore’s death was thought to be a suicide. But now authorities say Farwell changed the scene by moving her body and messing with evidence to make it look like she killed herself. He is also said to have told Birchmore to clear evidence that could be used against her from her phone and to have lied to police about how close they were and how long their sexual encounters lasted.
A lot of people are angry about the tragic case, especially about the claims that Farwell and two other former cops abused their power by having inappropriate relationships with Birchmore. An investigation into internal affairs found a disturbing pattern of exploitation in the Stoughton Police Explorers program. This is where Birchmore met Farwell and his twin brother William, who were both teachers in the program. The investigation found hundreds of texts between Birchmore and the Farwell brothers that showed they had abused her for years.
Donna McNamara, the chief of police in Stoughton, said that the officers’ actions were “deeply disturbing” and went against the department’s standards as well as common sense. She said over and over that the people who were meant to protect Sandra Birchmore had let her down, and she called for justice in her death. It has been McNamara’s goal to have the Farwell brothers’ police licenses taken away so they can’t work as police officers anymore.
As the case goes on, prosecutors hope that Matthew Farwell’s charges will bring some justice to Birchmore’s family. The family has sued the Farwell brothers and another former officer, Robert Devine, for wrongful death. This case is a big step toward holding those responsible for Sandra Birchmore’s abuse accountable. She never got justice in her life.
