A new forensic report on the death of a pregnant woman whom authorities say had relationships with three Stoughton police officers, including one when she was a girl, has left the department's chief "profoundly disturbed and troubled," the official said Monday.
It's the latest update in the death of Sandra Birchmore, who met the three officers as a teenager through the Stoughton Police Department's youth Explorer program, and whom investigators have said died by suicide, with no foul play involved.
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Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara issued a statement to the Stoughton community Monday on the new report, which she said was issued by a pathologist hired by Birchmore's family as part of a civil lawsuit against the town
NBC10 Boston has not reviewed the report, but The Boston Globe reported Monday that, in it, a former New York City chief medical examiner found that Birchmore's death was a homicide, not a suicide. Without mentioning its findings, McNamara said that the report warrants further high-level examination.
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"I was profoundly disturbed and troubled by what I read. While I am not a trained medical examiner, and I am not qualified to draw any direct conclusions, the findings certainly warrant further examination at the highest level. As always, we will continue to assist with any effort to ensure that truth and justice prevail," McNamara wrote in her letter.
Read her full statement below.
Reached Monday, a spokesman for the Norfolk District Attorney's Office said that multiple law enforcement agencies are still reviewing information in the investigation, which remains open. A representative for state police wrote in an email that "it would be inappropriate" to comment, citing the ongoing investigation and the family's lawsuit.
The three Stoughton officers accused of having inappropriate relationships with Birchmore, who was 23 when she died, are Matthew Farwell, William Farwell and Robert Devine, McNamara said at a news conference in September 2022, when she announced the findings of the department's internal affairs investigation. All resigned before they were interviewed in the investigation.
She also said that a fourth person who went on to work for another police department was also accused of having an inappropriate relationship with Birchmore.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.
No criminal charges have been filed against the officers named in the case. They have denied allegations against them in a civil suit brought by Birchmore's estate, which also names the town and Stoughton police, alleging "wrongful death, negligence, negligent supervision, negligent retention, pain and suffering, and emotional distress" over what it described as a yearslong grooming scheme.
The spokesman for the Norfolk District Attorney's Office has previously noted that all three officers whom McNamara named were placed on what's known as a Brady list, which notes officers whose credibility has been called into question and are not considered suitable to testify in trials. Additionally, Matthew Farwell, who is accused of having sexual contact with Birchmore while she was under age, has been decertified as a police officer under the state's POST Commission rules.
Birchmore entered the Explorer program when she was 13 years old, where she met Matthew Farwell, who was an instructor. McNamara said evidence shows that he began an inappropriate relationship with her when she was 15 and he was 27 — which would be statutory rape under Massachusetts law.
Hundreds of messages and explicit exchanges were uncovered between the two over the course of several years, the chief said at the time.
More on the Sandra Birchmore case
William Farwell, Matthew's brother, in addition to allegedly having multiple inappropriate encounters with Birchmore, was accused of exchanging explicit messages and photos with her while he was on duty. He was also accused of "at the very least" trying to introduce Birchmore to other men.
She said at the time that the problem in her department had been rooted out, and reiterated Monday that the agency continues to cooperate with the investigation into Birchmore's death: "Sandra received not so much as a sliver of justice during her life, and we will not cease in our efforts to ensure our duty to administer justice, and she is not forgotten in the aftermath of her death."
The case has shined a light on allegations of abuse in the Explorers program, through which local police mentor youth in the community. Last month, The Marshall Project said it found at least 193 other allegations of inappropriate behavior from law enforcement, including grooming and sexual abuse, involving the Explorers program in the last 50 years.
The Boy Scouts, which created the program, told The Marshall Project at the time it has been committed to youth safety, and that "appropriate measures" are taken when "a leader in one of our programs has abused a position of trust" hold them accountable.
Read Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara's full June 24 statement on the Sandra Birchmore case
The Stoughton Police Department posted this statement to its website on Monday, June 24, 2024:
To the Stoughton Community,
As part of our ongoing review of the deeply troubling pattern of events regarding the life and death of Sandra Birchmore we have been engaged with counsel as the family of Sandra is suing the Town of Stoughton.
Sandra’s family has hired a pathologist who has issued a report as part of preparation for the civil lawsuit. We have received and reviewed the report and are aware that the Boston Globe and other news media may have received the report as well. My statement in response to the report is below. The Stoughton Police Department is committed to transparency in this matter and we will continue to provide updates as they become available.
As chief of the Stoughton Police Department, I have directly participated in this lengthy and aggressive internal affairs investigation. In September of 2022, I released an executive summary which revealed for the first time, the horrific injustices including grooming and sexual abuse inflicted upon Sandra Birchmore at the hands of one rogue and corrupt former police officer and additional inappropriate sexual relationships by other former police officers. It has been my stated mission, guided by both my understanding of the policies and procedures of the Stoughton Police Department and my own moral compass, that this process must be as transparent as possible and that we follow every lead and shine light on all aspects of this horrific chapter in our history, no matter what.
I need to be clear that our police department has no jurisdiction over the investigation of Sandra’s death, which occurred in a different community. However, I will reiterate that the Stoughton Police Department has assisted and continues to cooperate with other law enforcement agencies. Sandra received not so much as a sliver of justice during her life, and we will not cease in our efforts to ensure our duty to administer justice, and she is not forgotten in the aftermath of her death.
As part of our ongoing work with other agencies, I have uncovered relevant investigatory information over the course of both the Stoughton Police Department’s internal affairs investigation and in our mandatory preparation for the pending lawsuit filed by Sandra’s family. We have and continue to turn over all information to the appropriate agency or agencies.
However, as a police administrator and investigator with decades of experience, I would be remiss if I did not remark that I have reviewed the findings of the outside doctor retained by Sandra’s family. I was profoundly disturbed and troubled by what I read. While I am not a trained medical examiner, and I am not qualified to draw any direct conclusions, the findings certainly warrant further examination at the highest level. As always, we will continue to assist with any effort to ensure that truth and justice prevail.
Every good and decent police officer should be aware of and angry about the injustices inflicted upon Sandra Birchmore. Sandra idolized police officers and what policing stood for in America, and she was victimized as a result.
The only mantra of good cops must be: Never again, and never, ever on my watch.
