Former Stoughton, Mass. police officer Matthew Farwell was indicted for the 2021 murder of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore, a pregnant woman Farwell allegedly sexually abused from the time she was a minor.
The Birchmore indictment raises many questions about Farwell’s private life, such as: Was Farwell married when the crime was committed, and if so, who is his wife? At this writing, there is very little personal information about Farwell’s marital status available online, nor do reports indicate whether Farwell is or was ever married.
What happened to Sandra Birchmore?
Birchmore’s death was at first ruled suicide by the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In June 2024, Birchmore’s family turned to a private forensic investigator who declared it was murder based on the nature of Birchmore’s injuries, MassLive reported.
Farwell reportedly met Birchmore as her instructor in the Stoughton Police Explorers Academy vocational program for high schoolers, and began an inappropriate sexual relationship with the then-teenager. Stoughton and Birchmore’s relationship lasted for years and was kept quiet, and Farwell is accused of abusing Birchmore during several of his shifts as a police officer.
At the time of her murder, Birchmore was allegedly pregnant with Stoughton’s child, and Farwell is accused of breaking off the relationship shortly before he killed her. He then staged it to look like suicide, according to the prosecution.
Two other men, Farwell’s twin brother, William Farwell, and Officer Robert C. Devin, were named in a Stoughton Police Department internal report about the matter. All three men resigned from the force after Birchmore died.
“Farwell allegedly 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,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement when Farwell was arrested. He was indicted later the same day.
The statement added, “To conceal this activity, it is alleged that Farwell falsely represented that he had worked certain hours, when in fact he was not working but engaging in sex acts with the then-minor victim.” It’s unclear when Farwell is expected to appear in court.