A FORMER police detective has been arrested for allegedly murdering a pregnant woman after grooming her from the age of 15.
Disgraced Massachusetts cop Matthew Farwell, 38, strangled Sandra Birchmore, 23, in 2021 after she revealed she was pregnant with his child, prosecutors alleged Wednesday.
Farwell is accused of having a years-long sexual relationship with Birchmore, beginning when she was 15 and he was 27, the US Attorney’s Office said.
The two met through a now-defunct program with the Stoughton Police Department which sought to introduce children to policing.
He became friends with Birchmore on Facebook and allegedly sparked a sexual relationship, a bombshell indictment revealed.
Birchmore was allegedly exploited for sex as a child, and would sometimes have sex with Farwell while he was on duty, the Department of Justice said.
This relationship continued for years until Birchmore got pregnant with Farwell’s child, and he became enraged and plotted to kill her, prosecutors allege.
Farwell is accused of strangling her to death while she did laundry and staging the scene to look like suicide.
Farwell was arrested on Wednesday and officials said in a press conference he faces a minimum of life in prison if he’s convicted.
HORROR BEHAVIORS
Court documents state that Birchmore became pregnant around 2020, and told friends how excited she was to be a mother.
She told colleagues the father wouldn’t be a part of her child’s life but was still looking forward to the baby’s arrival.
In January 2021, a friend of Birchmore called the Stoughton Police Department to report her relationship with Farwell, the DOJ said.
After this call, Farwell allegedly exploded with anger and started to get physically violent with Birchmore.
Birchmore also asked for a key to Farwell’s home, and spent time studying at her apartment while he plotted her murder, prosecutors allege.
Hours before her death, Birchmore contacted a photographer to schedule newborn baby photos.
SHOCK U-TURN
On April 1, 2022, Farwell resigned from the force after he had been on paid administrative leave for weeks, the Boston Globe reported.
Days later, his twin brother William Farwell, who also met Birchmore through the program, and another police officer Robert Devine, who was an instructor when Birchmore was enrolled, were both put on administrative leave.
In September 2022, the chief of the Stoughton Police Department revealed all three of the officers had been fired for having “inappropriate” relationships with Birchmore.
“Through a sustained and deliberate combination of lies, deceit, and treachery, they violated the policies and core values of the Stoughton Police Department, not to mention human decency,” Chief Donna McNamara said at the time.
However, she didn’t provide any details about what happened.
While a state medical examiner ruled her death a suicide, Birchmore’s family remained suspicious of Farwell.
In December 2022, the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both Farwell brothers, Devine, the city of Stoughton, and the police department.
In the suit, the family claimed a pathologist hired by them determined her death was a homicide.
All parties have said they’re innocent, and the case is still pending.
Disturbing Relationship Timeline
Sandra Birchmore had a decade-long relationship with the Stoughton Police Department before her death in February 2021.
2010: Birchmore, then 13 years old, enrolls in the Stoughton police youth program, known as Police Explorers.
She eventually meets twin brothers Matthew and William Farwell, who had both been police explorers as teenagers, through the program.
March 27, 2012: Matthew Farwell becomes a Stoughton police officer after working with the Wellesley police force for several years.
April 10, 2013: Farwell, then 27 years old, allegedly begins a sexual relationship with Birchmore, who had recently turned 15.
The age of consent in Massachusetts is 16.
Farwell and Birchmore continue their relationship through at least 2020.
MORE ALLEGATIONS
The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission has been investigating the three ex-officers and a commission has made disturbing allegations about the trio.
In August 2023, the commission claimed William sent Birchmore sexually graphic pictures while he was on duty between April and December of 2020.
They also claimed William used a law enforcement database to search her name despite having no rightful cause to do so.
William and Farwell both allegedly lied to officers when they were questioned about their relationship with Birchmore, the commission said.
The commission has also accused Devine of arranging to have sex with Birchmore while he was on duty in December 2020.
Devine met Birchmore when she enrolled in the police program at 13, but he denied ever having a relationship with her out of work.
However, the commission accused him of sending sexual messages to Birchmore on Facebook using the alias Marty Riggs – who is the fictional police officer from the movie Lethal Weapon.
Falwell agreed to be decommissioned in March 2024 but maintains his innocence.
William and Devine are challenging the claims.
