A former Stoughton, Massachusetts, police detective has been federally indicted in the death of Sandra Birchmore, accused of killing her and then staging her apartment to make it appear she had committed suicide.
Matthew Farwell, 38, of North Easton, is accused of having a sexual relationship with Birchmore from the time she was 15 years old until she was 23, killing her sometime after she told him she was pregnant with his child. Federal prosecutors say he did so to prevent her from revealing their relationship and his alleged crimes tied to it.
"Sandra Birchmore survived years of grooming, statutory rape and then sexual violence, all at the hands of Matthew Farwell, who was employed throughout the relationship as an officer and then detective for the Stoughton Police Department," acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Stoughton police, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office and the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office all released statements on the indictment soon after its release Wednesday — Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara called the allegations "a horrific injustice," while a spokesman for District Attorney Michael Morrissey said the office looks "forward to supporting and assisting Federal authorities as they pursue this prosecution." Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell called Farwell's alleged actions "malicious, predatory, and horrific." Read their full statements below.
Birchmore, who was three months pregnant, was found dead at her apartment in Canton in 2021. While her death was originally ruled a suicide, according to the Boston Globe, a pathologist hired by her family found Birchmore's death was in fact a homicide. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the federal investigation reexamined old evidence and discovered "critical new evidence" that led to the indictment.
Levy declined to comment on why federal investigators originally became involved in the case, but said Wednesday they have been looking into it for around a year.
According to court documents, Birchmore became pregnant and around December 2020 told Farwell he was the father of her child. In January 2021, someone allegedly called the Stoughton Police Department to report that Farwell had been having sex with Birchmore.
Birchmore, according to Levy, was reportedly excited about the pregnancy. In fact, according to the FBI, just days before her death Birchmore was making phone calls inquiring about a newborn photoshoot and baby clothes.
Meanwhile, Levy said, Farwell reacted negatively. He spent years grooming Birchmore and this series of events had him "losing control," "losing patience", and "losing his temper."
In February 2021, Farwell strangled Birchmore to death and then staged her apartment to make the death look like a suicide, the indictment states. He is accused of killing Birchmore "with malice aforethought, willfully, deliberately maliciously and with premeditation, and with the intent to prevent the communication by any person to law enforcement officer of information relating to the commission or possible commission of a federal offense." The official charge is one count of killing a witness or victim, and one count of wire fraud. If convicted, Farwell faces a minimum of life in prison.
Prosecutors also allege that before her death, Farwell told Birchmore to delete evidence that he had sex with her before her 16th birthday. After her death, he researched how to delete data from his own phone, court documents state. He is also accused of lying to the Massachusetts State Police investigators who initially handled the case.
"Let me be clear, Matthew Farwell's gun and badge did not grant him the authority to ignore the Constitution, and they certainly did not entitle him to sexually abuse and rape a child before killing her and her unborn baby in an attempt to cover up his alleged crimes," said Stephen Kelleher, assistant special agent in charge of FBI Boston.
Levy said his office and the FBI will share the results of their investigation with the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office and the other relevant state agencies so they can determine if state charges will be filed.
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