Former Stoughton police officer charged with murder of Sandra Birchmore while pregnant

STOUGHTON – Former Stoughton, Massachusetts police detective Matthew Farwell is accused of killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore in 2021 while she was pregnant with the child she told him was his.

A grand jury indictment filed Tuesday in federal court says Farwell strangled Birchmore in her Canton apartment and then staged the scene to make it look like she had committed suicide. Her death was previously ruled a suicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy will hold a press conference at 1:45 p.m. announcing Farwell's arrest and the charges against him. You can watch the press conference live on CBS News Boston in the video player above.

Former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell charged

The indictment states that Farwell had “sexual intercourse and other sexual acts with Birchmore” before she turned 16. Birchmore had joined a youth program for children interested in a career in law enforcement called the Stoughton Police Explorers Academy in 2012, where Farwell was a volunteer instructor.

Birchmore told Farwell he was the child's father after learning she was pregnant in December 2020, the indictment states. A friend of hers called Stoughton police on or about Jan. 20, 2021, and reported that Farwell had had sex with Birchmore.

A police officer told Farwell about the call, and days later Birchmore was found dead, the indictment says.

Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara said her department is working with the FBI on the investigation.

“The alleged murder of Sandra is a horrific injustice,” she said in a statement. “The allegations against the suspect, a former Stoughton police officer, represent the worst case of not only professional misconduct but human indecency that I have witnessed in my nearly three-decade career in law enforcement.”

A spokesman for Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey said Wednesday that the Birchmore case is still “open and active.”

“This work involved working with local police, the Commonwealth Attorney General and the FBI, as each agency has unique resources and responsibilities. Two officers from the Norfolk District Attorney's Office assigned to the State Police were at the operation's command post when the arrest was made in Revere,” said spokesman David Traub. “We look forward to assisting and supporting federal authorities in their pursuit of these charges.”

History of the Sandra Birchmore case

The former officers Farwell, his twin brother William Farwell and Robert Devine were found to be violate departmental policies in 2022 after a 19-month investigation. Investigators said the trio exhibited a “deeply disturbing pattern of behavior” toward Birchmore.

In June, the Boston Globe reported that Birchmore's family had filed a civil lawsuit against the Stoughton Police Department, the city and the three former police officers. A pathologist hired by the family said her death was homicide by strangulation.

In response, Chief McNamara said she was “deeply concerned and concerned” about the findings and that they “certainly warrant further scrutiny at the highest level”.