Sandra's Story
Sandra Birchmore had great admiration and trust for the police. So, at just 13 years old, she signed up for the Stoughton Massachusetts Police Explorers Program. Not long after joining, the three police officers who led the program, Robert Devine and twin brothers William and Matthew Farwell, began grooming her.
One of these officers - Matthew Farwell - started statutory raping Sandra when she was 15 years old. Later, officers William Farwell and Robert Devine also began having sexual relations with her.
At 23, Sandra became pregnant with Matthew's baby. Matthew was already a father of two, and his wife was expecting another child. He made it clear to Sandra that he was unhappy about her pregnancy. Sandra told friends, family, and co-workers about her pregnancy and that Matthew was the father of her unborn child. She was excited to become a mom but told others that Matthew wanted her to "take care of it, or I will." She also said that if anything happened to her, the investigators should look at Matthew.
Sandra's Story Part I
Sandra's Story Part II
In early February 2021, after not showing up at work for a few days, her employer requested a wellness check. On February 4, responding Canton police officers found Sandra's body sitting on the floor with a ligature around her neck that was tied to a closet door handle. Although the medical examiner deemed her HIGHLY-SUSPICIOUS death a "suicide," many ask, did she really kill herself?
When reviewing the apartment lobby video footage, investigators looked at February 1, 2021, which was the last day Sandra communicated with anyone. They saw Matthew entering the elevator to Sandra’s apartment. He left about 30 minutes later and was the last person to see Sandra Birchmore alive. When questioned, he stated that the two of them argued, they broke up, and he left.
On June 24, 2024, pathologist Michael Baden reviewed the original autopsy report and disagreed with the MA medical examiner. Baden said the evidence indicated a homicide, not a suicide. Sandra's hyoid bone was broken; something that rarely, if ever, happens in a suicide. The MA Attorney General's office and the FBI are currently investigating the case.
Sandra's Story Part 3
On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, federal authorities indicted former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell on charges that he murdered Sandra Birchmore when she was just 23 in her Canton, Massachusetts apartment in February 2021. Sandra claimed that Matthew was the father of her unborn baby up to her death. Later, her phone texts proved Matthew initiated sexual relations with her when she was a member of the Stoughton police explorers program.
The indictment was a big step in obtaining justice for Sandra. It charged Matthew Farwell with killing a witness or a victim. It alleges that Matthew killed Sandra on or near February 1, 2021 by strangulation, and then he staged her apartment to make it look like she took her own life.
According to prosecutors, Farwell is accused of killing Sandra Birchmore "with malice, aforethought, willfully, deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation" to prevent any communication to law enforcement of information relating to potential federal crimes. According to the indictment, Farwell could face charges including deprivation of Birchmore's rights, coercion, and enticement, as well as wire fraud. The charges carry the possibility of the death penalty.
In court, prosecutors said they wanted to have Farwell detained pending the trial. They added, "He did so while he was serving as a police officer, and after using that position of trust and authority to groom and sexually exploit her for years, beginning when she was just 15 years old. There are no conditions of release that will protect the community from a defendant whose conduct reveals such an indifference to human life."
This is not the end. It is just the beginning to getting Sandra and her unborn child the justice they deserve. It is also important to note that this indictment could save countless other women from the evil of Matthew Farwell. And what about the others? Only time will tell if William Farwell and Robert Devine will be charged, as well.
