People who live in Stoughton and surrounding Massachusetts communities say the Sandra Birchmore case raises questions about how her death, and the alleged cover-up, could happen, and how it could go unanswered for so long.
What to Know
- Sandra Birchmore was found dead at her apartment in Canton, Massachusetts, in 2021. She was three months pregnant; her death was ruled a suicide.
- Matthew Farwell, one of three former Stoughton police officers who've been accused of having inappropriate sexual relationships with Birchmore, has now been accused in federal court of killing Birchmore and making her death look like a suicide.
- Stoughton's police chief, a spokesman for the Norfolk District Attorney's Office, and the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office released statements on the new allegations.
The family of Sandra Birchmore is reacting to the decision to charge a former Stoughton police officer with her murder.
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In a statement to NBC10 Boston, Birchmore's family said "based on our personal memories of her and the stories we have heard from others close to her, it is clear that Sandra had a huge heart and did everything in her power to help those around her. Sandra dreamed of becoming a mother, and we dreamed of watching her become one."
"Sandra was a vivacious young woman who would do anything for those she cared about," they added. "Her biggest wish was to become a mother, and she would have been an amazing one."
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Former Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell pleaded not guilty last week after he was indicted on charges he strangled Birchmore in early 2021 and tried to stage her death as a suicide after she told him she was pregnant and he was the father. Birchmore was 23 years old.
Farwell, 38, worked as an officer for the police department in Stoughton from 2012 until 2022. Birchmore began participating in the department's police explorers program when she was 12 years old.
According to the indictment, Farwell, who was a police explorers volunteer, used his authority and access to groom, sexually exploit and then sexually abuse Birchmore when she was 15 and that he continued to have sex with her when she became an adult.
The Birchmore family said in their statement that they were pleased with the "expeditious and efficient job done by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office because we felt that the investigation did not get the same attention at the state level. We want to personally thank the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for their dedication to this investigation. We have faith that they will get the justice that Sandra deserves."
They also had a message for families, saying, "Pay attention to your children. Pay attention to the people they associate with no matter their occupation or their station in life. Pay attention to the relationships they have. It’s not always easy to see the signs. We are only this week’s headline, not unlike the millions of other tragedies before and after us. Please learn from our grief and our suffering to cherish life and question relationships. Sandra and her baby were taken. They were destroyed by the very people we teach our children to trust. Their graves were then stepped on by the systems we place our faith in protecting us and delivering justice. That said, above all, always... always hold them close."
Birchmore's estate has filed a civil lawsuit wrongful death lawsuit alleging "wrongful death, negligence, negligent supervision, negligent retention, pain and suffering, and emotional distress" over what it describes as a yearslong grooming scheme.
Farwell is just one of three former Stoughton police officers who were accused of having inappropriate sexual relationships with Birchmore, though only one is accused of starting when she was underage. The other officers have denied the allegations.
The wrongful death lawsuit names the officers as well as the town and Stoughton police.
