New allegations reported in Sandra Birchmore case

By Jay Turner

The chorus of voices seeking “Justice for Sandra Birchmore” may soon grow louder in the wake of an explosive Boston Globe report containing new details about her relationship with several former Stoughton police officers who she grew up idolizing.

Birchmore, who was raised in Stoughton before moving to Canton, was found dead in her Windsor Woods apartment in early February 2021 after police responded to a well-being check initiated by her employer after she failed to show up for work on consecutive days.

Sandra Birchmore

The state medical examiner ruled that Birchmore, who was 23 years old and three months pregnant at the time, had died by suicide, and a subsequent State Police investigation found no evidence of foul play.

Nineteen months after her death, however, an internal affairs report released by the Stoughton Police Department ignited a flood of interest in the Birchmore case as the public learned of the disturbing allegations made against three SPD officers — brothers Matthew and William Farwell, and Robert Devine, who have all since resigned. The report concluded that all three men, who Birchmore had met as a middle schooler through the department’s now defunct Youth Explorers Program, had inappropriate sexual relations with her and that Matthew Farwell, who was 12 years her senior and married, had an ongoing sexual affair with Birchmore that began when she was 15 and lasted until shortly before her death.

The allegations against Matthew Farwell, if true, would constitute statutory rape in the state of Massachusetts, where the age of consent is 16. All three men have denied any wrongdoing.

In December 2022, three months after the release of the IA report, Birchmore’s estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit against all three former officers in which they accuse the three men of “grooming and repeated sexual assaults from a young age.” The lawsuit also names the town of Stoughton and the Stoughton PD as defendants, accusing them of negligent hiring, negligent supervision, and infliction of emotional distress. All named parties deny the allegations.

According to the 14-page complaint filed in Norfolk Superior Court, Birchmore had endured “significant mental and emotional problems” from an early age but she “deeply respected authority figures,” specifically police officers, and found a sense of belonging in the Youth Explorers Program, which was run by Devine. The Farwell brothers, according to the complaint, were instructors in the program and Devine’s protegees.

In a front-page Globe story published on March 2, reporter Laura Crimaldi documents new “graphic details” of the officers’ alleged misconduct that have since become public in the wrongful death suit as well as in a separate proceeding being conducted by the commonwealth’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, which is seeking to sanction and decertify all three officers.

According to the Globe, which reviewed a tape from a November 2023 hearing in the wrongful death suit, a lawyer for Birchmore’s estate said the three former police officers “passed her around like she was a toy.” At least two officers, they allege, had sex with Birchmore in patrol cars when she was an adult and also encouraged her to engage in sexual acts with others.

Following the release of the IA report, Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara issued a lengthy statement in which she accused the three former officers of a “sustained and deliberate combination of lies, deceit, and treachery,” adding that they should “never have the privilege of serving any community as a police officer.” In addition to recommending that their police certifications be revoked, McNamara recommended that they be placed on the National Decertification Index to ensure they “never again serve as police officers, anywhere.”

The Globe, citing the POST proceedings, said the agency has accused William Farwell of encouraging Birchmore to “secretly record her sexual encounters” and send him the photos or videos, including an August 2020 photo that POST has reviewed that depicted the male genitalia of an unnamed Stoughton officer.

Devine, according to POST records detailed in the Globe story, allegedly started engaging in “inappropriate, suggestive conduct” with Birchmore when she was an explorer, and by 2020 was “having full-fledged sexual encounters with her at various locations.”

The Globe also reports that POST has accused the Farwells of lying about the extent of their relationships with Birchmore in interviews with State Police troopers, and according to a February ruling in Norfolk Superior Court, investigators have uncovered “numerous sexually explicit text messages” between Birchmore and Matthew Farwell in which he acknowledged “taking her virginity” in April 2013. In his interview with State Police, however, Matthew Farwell said he only had sex with Birchmore “two or three times” in 2020.

Despite confessing only to those encounters, Farwell acknowledged to investigators that he went to her apartment on February 1, 2021, reportedly to end their relationship. And while several friends of Birchmore’s have told the Globe that Matthew Farwell was the father of her unborn child, Farwell has denied paternity and blocked Birchmore on all communication platforms after visiting her home on February 1.

During that visit, Farwell was captured on surveillance video entering and then leaving Birchmore’s apartment building, and the IA report indicates that he was the last known person to see her alive, according to the Globe.

Crimaldi also reported in her March 2 story that the office of state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has since taken over an investigation related to the case that was previously being handled by the Norfolk District Attorney’s office.

In September 2022, when the IA report was first made public, Norfolk DA Michael Morrissey indicated that an initial State Police investigation failed to produce “evidence of criminality” in Birchmore’s death. He subsequently pledged to continue to review her case to determine whether “criminal charges can be pursued.” However, friends and supporters of Birchmore have been vocal in their criticism of the DA’s handling of the case, staging protests outside the DA’s office in Canton and initiating a letter-writing campaign to urge AG Campbell to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate her death.

Melissa Berry, who runs the Justice for Sandra Birchmore Facebook page — a public group with 4,700 members — said there have been far too many questions that have still not been answered in relation to Birchmore’s death.

Last month, Berry posted a memorial tribute to Birchmore on Facebook on the three-year anniversary of her death. “Three years ago today Sandra’s body was found in her Canton apartment,” she wrote. “She was found in a seated position with a ligature tied around her neck. It was fastened to her closet door handle. Her death was ruled suicide. Her death is what brought forth the abuse Sandra endured. Disgraced former Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell was the last person to see Sandra alive. She was pregnant with his baby. Many believe Sandra didn’t kill herself. She was looking forward to being a mother. Sandra Birchmore deserves a full investigation into her death.”

Berry has organized monthly “standouts” in Stoughton and Canton to ensure that Birchmore’s case remains at the forefront of people’s minds. The next standout is scheduled for Saturday, March 23, from 1-4 p.m. at Stoughton Town Hall (weather permitting).

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