A former police detective was arrested by a SWAT team Wednesday after being accused of grooming an underage girl, forcing her into a years-long abusive relationship then murdering her when she became pregnant.
Matthew Farwell could face the federal death penalty if found guilty of strangling Sandra Birchmore to death to cover up his abuse.
Birchmore was 23 and three months pregnant when she was found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts apartment in February 2021. Her death was initially ruled a suicide but an FBI investigation prompted by her family, which hired its own own forensic examiner, led to federal charges against Farwell.
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Federal prosecutors allege that Farwell began the sexual relationship with Birchmore when she was 15, then used his position of power in the Stoughton Police Department to manipulate and control her. After she disclosed her pregnancy in 2021, Farwell is accused of strangling her and staging the scene to make it look like Birchmore had taken her own life.
Prosecutors allege that Farwell met Birchmore when she joined a police program to give young people exposure to careers in law enforcement.
Farwell, 27 at the time, “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,” prosecutors allege.
“When it became clear that Mr. Farwell, that he could no longer control Sandra Birchmore, he allegedly silenced her permanently,” Joshua Levy, acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, said at a press conference, according to WBZ-TV. “He allegedly attempted to cover his tracks to literally try and get away with murder. And he almost did, until today.”
A pathologist hired by Birchmore’s family had initially challenged the medical examiner’s suicide ruling, leading to an FBI investigation which uncovered new evidence, including Farwell’s alleged attempts to erase evidence of the relationship.
Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara condemned the former officer’s actions as a “horrific injustice” Wednesday and vowed to support the federal prosecution to ensure justice is served.
“As I have stated previously, Sandra Birchmore received no justice during her life,” McNamara said. “It is imperative that justice be served in her death, and today’s actions appear to bring our society one step closer to justice.”
Farwell is not the only officer allegedly implicated in the abuse of Birchmore. His twin brother, William, and another Stoughton officer, Robert C. Devine, were also accused in a civil suit of inappropriate conduct, although only Matthew faces criminal charges.
Farwell was arrested by a SWAT team at a Revere shopping plaza where he was driving a gravel hauler. The federal charges carry a mandatory life sentence and are eligible for the death penalty. During the Biden administration the only time capital punishment has been sought by prosecutors was for Pittsburgh synagogue mass-murderer Robert Gregory Bowers, who killed 11 and wounded 6 in an anti-semitic mass shooting.
