A former Stoughton, Massachusetts police detective Matthew Farwell has been charged with killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore in 2021 while she was pregnant with what she told him was his child.
A grand jury indictment filed Tuesday in federal court alleged that Farwell strangled Birchmore to death inside her Canton apartment, and then staged the scene to make it look like she had died by suicide. Her death had previously been ruled a suicide with no foul play involved by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Farwell Accused of Grooming, Having a Sexual Relationship with Birchmore Before She Turned 16
According to the indictment, Farwell, "engaged in sexual intercourse and other sex acts with Birchmore" before she turned 16 years old. Birchmore had joined a youth program for kids interested in law enforcement careers called "Stoughton Police Explorers Academy" in 2012, and Farwell was a volunteer instructor at the academy.
Farwell allegedly befriended Birchmore, contacted her online and went to the library with her before he began committing statutory rape.
Federal prosecutors allege that Farwell "used his authority and access 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." He was 27 years old at the time of the alleged assault.
Farwell Allegedly Killed Birchmore After She Told Him He was the Father of Her Child
Birchmore told Farwell that he was the father of the child after learning she was pregnant in Dec. 2020, the indictment said. A friend of hers called the Stoughton Police Department on or about Jan. 20, 2021 and reported that Farwell had been having sex with Birchmore.
An employee at the police department told Farwell about the call, and days later Birchmore was found dead on Feb. 4, 2021, the indictment said. Birchmore texted someone that Farwell had asked for a key to her apartment in the week leading up to her death. She told the person it was "really odd" that Farwell had come over and looked inside her closet and bathroom.
Crime Scene Staged as Suicide
According to an affidavit filed by FBI, officers found Birchmore dead with a duffle bag strap tied around her neck and connected to the closet door that Farwell had been inspecting.
The affidavit also said a doctor interviewed by federal prosecutors made findings "that call into question the prior finding that Birchmore's cause of death was suicide and instead further confirm that Birchmore's cause of death was homicide."
Canton police and state police at the Norfolk District Attorney's office initially investigated Birchmore's death, deeming it a suicide and apparently missing surveillance footage and text messages that placed Farwell at the scene of the crime.
The news of Farwell's arrest comes two years Stoughton's police chief announced that Farwell and two other former officers at the agency, including Farwell's twin brother, William, and Robert Devine, had inappropriate relationships with Birchmore.
