Former Massachusetts Cop Charged in Death of Pregnant Woman Originally Ruled a Suicide

Melissa Berry (C) talks with supporters during a recent gathering in support of a deeper investigation into the unattended death of Sandra Birchmore of Canton, Mass., on Feb. 4, 2021. Courtesy of JusticeForSandraBirchmore.com

A police officer from Stoughton, Massachusetts, could face the death penalty or life in prison for allegedly killing a young pregnant woman to conceal a longstanding sexual relationship that began when she was a minor.

Matthew Farwell, 38, was charged by a federal grand jury in Boston with the murder of Sandra Birchmore on Aug. 28.

Police say Birchmore, 23, was three months pregnant when they found her hanging by a scarf wrapped around a doorknob in her Canton apartment bedroom on Feb. 4, 2021.

The indictment alleges that Matthew Farwell strangled Birchmore on Feb. 1, 2021, and made it appear as if she committed suicide.

Federal agents arrested Matthew Farwell on Aug. 28. He was arraigned later that afternoon in U.S. District Court in Boston on a charge of killing a victim or witness.

The charge carries a penalty of death or life in prison if convicted.

Matthew Farwell’s alleged motive was to conceal “longstanding sexual exploitation” of Birchmore while he was on duty, beginning when she was a minor, according to the indictment.

Matthew Farwell is the twin brother of Michael Farwell, a former Stoughton police officer.

An internal investigation by the Stoughton Police Department found both Farwells—as well as another officer, Robert Devine, 51—had broken department rules by having an inappropriate relationship with Birchmore.

All three quit in 2022.

Matthew Farwell worked for the Stoughton Police Department from March 2012 until April 2022, when he quit, according to court papers.

All three former officers were instructors for the department’s Explorers group, which is a program for youth to learn about careers in law enforcement.

Birchmore joined the program in 2010 when she was 12 years old.

The indictment alleges Matthew Farwell used his position to “groom, sexually exploit and ultimately sexually abuse Birchmore when she was 15 years old and continued to have sex with her when she became an adult.

“To conceal this activity, it is alleged that Farwell falsely represented that he had worked certain hours, when in fact he was not working but engaging in sex acts with the then-minor victim.”

Supporters at a recent gathering in Canton, Mass., to show their support for continuing the investigation into the alleged suicide of Sandra Birchmore in February 2024. Courtesy of JusticeForSandraBirchmore.com

Matthew Farwell’s alleged sexual contact with Birchmore continued until her death on Feb. 1, 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Massachusetts District.

In December 2020, Birchmore learned that she was pregnant and began sharing her excitement with people close to her.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston said that Birchmore informed Matthew Farwell that he was the father of the child and expected him to be involved, “at least in part, in the child’s life.”

“Birchmore disclosed to loved ones that Farwell allegedly became violent with her when they discussed the pregnancy and his role in the child’s life.

“At one point while she was pregnant, Farwell allegedly held Birchmore in a headlock and told her that he wished she were dead.”

Around Jan. 20, 2021, a friend of Birchmore tipped Stoughton police off about the alleged sexual relationship.

“Upon learning this, Farwell allegedly then sent Birchmore angry text messages and, a few days later—approximately one week prior to Birchmore’s death—Farwell visited Birchmore at her apartment in Canton and asked her if she could give him a spare apartment key and keep it a secret,” the statement adds.

Court papers alleged that on Feb. 1, 2021, Matthew Farwell murdered Birchmore in her apartment to silence her.

Death Ruled a Suicide

Birchmore’s death was initially ruled a suicide by the Norfolk County Medical Examiner’s office.

However, federal investigators would bring new evidence that would lead to Matthew Farwell’s indictment and arrest.

Members of a justice group for Sandra Birchmore told The Epoch Times they were pleased and “overwhelmed” by news of Matthew Farwell’s arrest.

“Today has been a crazy, crazy, crazy day,” said Melissa Berry, who launched JusticeForSandraBirchmore.com in February to bring awareness to the case.

Melissa Berry, a New Hampshire resident, is leading the charge seeking closure, and exposure, in the alleged suicide of Sandra Birchmore, 23, in February 2021. Courtesy of Melissa Berry

Since its launch, the site has had more than 6,000 members, many from across the United States and as far away as Australia.

On Aug. 25, about a dozen group members carrying signs stood outside Canton Town Hall to support Birchmore more than three years after her death.

“We’re over the moon. I almost don’t have words,” Berry said after hearing of Farwell’s indictment.

“It’s been a long time coming. I am so glad the FBI stepped up. We knew things were coming, but it was a surprise,” Berry said.

Berry, a New Hampshire resident, said she never knew Sandra Birchmore when she was alive.

In death, she became one of her leading advocates.

Sleepless Nights

Berry said she couldn’t stop thinking about the case after first reading about it in the newspapers and watching it on TV. She'd even go to bed thinking about it.

“It felt like Sandra was talking to me. I wasn’t going anywhere,” she said.

The more she learned about Birchmore’s death, the more she viewed the circumstances as suspicious.

“She was excited about her pregnancy,“ Berry said. ”She wanted to have a child more than anything. She was telling everybody. And everybody she saw was saying how excited she was about this child. I don’t believe she would have killed this child.”

Although Massachusetts state and local police investigated, the evidence at the time was deemed insufficient to charge Matthew Farwell with a crime.

Surveillance video showed Matthew Farwell entering Birchmore’s apartment building on Feb. 1, 2021, and leaving 28 minutes later, three days before police found her body.

In an interview, Matthew Farwell, a married man, told State Police that he went to Birchmore’s apartment to break up with her.

He was the last person to see Birchmore alive, according to the state police report.

“When I got to the Stoughton police report, my mind was exploding. What was going on?” Berry told The Epoch Times.

In his report, Stoughton Deputy Chief Brian Holmes recommended that the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission should decertify all three former officers.

By doing so, they could not work in law enforcement in Massachusetts.

“It is my conclusion, based upon this investigation and all relevant evidence, that no other current member of the Stoughton Police Department had an inappropriate relationship with the victim Sandra Birchmore,” Holmes wrote.

‘Bittersweet Justice’

“The more you turn the corner and see other layers of how wrong and how broken and how damaged this whole story is, the more it infuses energy to bring it to an end,” Susanne Cleveland, a member of the justice group, told The Epoch Times.

She said that even though there has been limited help, the goal was to spread the concern.

Cleveland said hearing of Matthew Farwell’s arrest has left her with “mixed” feelings.

“This has been an overwhelming day,” Cleveland said. “I’m going to be up all night.”

“I don’t think bittersweet quite captures it. There’s relief in Matthew Farwell being apprehended and being in custody.

“It’s also devastating thinking about the collateral damage—the ripple effect.

“Yes, Justice for Sandra. Yes, thank God [Farwell] was stopped. It’s overwhelming.”

On Dec. 29, 2022, the estate of Sandra Birchmore sued the three officers for wrongful death. The suit also names the town of Stoughton and the police department as defendants.

According to the 14-page lawsuit, Birchmore’s death was the culmination of a nearly decade-long “scheme of grooming and repeated sexual assaults from a young age by certain police officers” employed by the department.

The lawsuit states that Birchmore had a difficult life marred by the deaths of her mother and grandmother, compounded by mental and emotional issues.

“Despite these issues, Ms. Birchmore deeply respected authority figures, most notably police officers.

As a result of this admiration, she joined the Stoughton Police Department Explorers Program in her early teenage years.

“It was through this program that [Birchmore] was introduced” to the defendants, the lawsuit stated.

“It was this ongoing pattern of abuse and behavior over the near decade-long relationship that created and exacerbated the underlying trauma, mental, and emotional distress suffered by Ms. Birchmore that ultimately overwhelmed [her] will to live, and in turn, caused her death.”

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

It charges all three officers with wrongful death following a pattern of abuse and “grooming” of Birchmore, negligence, assault and battery, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Steve Marullo, lead counsel in the suit, declined comment “due to the sensitive nature of the underlying facts and the gravity of the claims against the town of Stoughton and the three former Stoughton police officers.”

Attorney David Bae, representing Matthew Farwell, did not respond to an email from The Epoch Times requesting comment.

The forensic pathologist for Birchmore’s estate in the lawsuit, Dr. Michael Baden, told the media in Boston that he believed Birchmore’s death was a homicide based on the forensic evidence.

The Epoch Times reached out to Baden for additional comment.

‘Profoundly Disturbed and Troubled’

On Aug. 28, Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara issued a public statement following Farwell’s arrest.

“The day after Sandra Birchmore was found dead in her Canton apartment, I ordered a lengthy and aggressive internal affairs investigation, the instructions of which made it clear that no stone should be left unturned.

“The Stoughton Police Department has supported other agencies and worked with other agencies, including the FBI investigation that today resulted in a murder indictment that concluded that Sandra was killed.

“The alleged murder of Sandra is a horrific injustice. The allegations against the suspect, a former Stoughton Police Officer, represent the single worst act of not just professional misconduct but indeed human indecency that I have observed in a nearly three-decade career in law enforcement.

“It has been my life’s work over these past three years to ensure that justice was served. As I have stated previously, Sandra Birchmore received no justice during her life.

“It is imperative that justice be served in her death, and today’s actions appear to bring our society one step closer to justice.”

McNamara issued an earlier statement on June 4, in which she said she was “profoundly disturbed and troubled” after reading Dr. Baden’s report listing Birchmore’s death as a homicide.

“Every good and decent police officer should be aware of and angry about the injustices inflicted upon Sandra Birchmore,” McNamara wrote.

“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.”