Ex Stoughton Cop Matthew Farwell Charged In Deaths Of Pregnant Sandra Birchmore And Her Unborn Child.

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Former Massachusetts Detective Faces New Charge in Death of Pregnant Woman and Her Unborn Child A former Massachusetts police detective accused of killing a pregnant woman now also faces a charge related to the death of her unborn baby. Matthew Farwell, formerly with the Stoughton Police Department, was first indicted in August 2024 for the death of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore, found dead in her Canton apartment on February 4, 2021. She was three months pregnant. Birchmore’s death was initially ruled a suicide, but a federal review uncovered new evidence leading to Farwell’s indictment. A new filing this week adds a charge under the Protection of Unborn Children law. His trial is scheduled for next year. In 2022, Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara said Farwell, his twin brother William, and Officer Robert Devine engaged in serious misconduct involving Birchmore. An internal investigation found Birchmore met Farwell at 13 through the department’s Youth Explorers Program. At 15, she allegedly began an inappropriate relationship with Farwell, who was then 27. Federal investigators say Farwell used his position to groom and sexually exploit her, continuing the relationship into her adulthood, even while on duty. Authorities allege Farwell falsified work records to hide their encounters. In late 2020, Birchmore learned she was pregnant and told Farwell he was the father. Investigators say he became violent, at one point putting her in a headlock and saying he wished she were dead. A friend later alerted police to their relationship. Days after learning of the report, Farwell allegedly sent Birchmore angry texts and visited her apartment, asking for a spare key and searching her belongings. Federal investigators believe that, fearing exposure, Farwell killed Birchmore around February 1, 2021, to silence her.  #SandraBirchmore #MatthewFarwell #Canton #Massachusetts #CantonMassachusetts #Stoughton #StoughtonMassachusetts #StoughtonPolice #Detective #Murder #Groomed #Suicide #DeathPenalty #WilliamFarwell #DonnaMcNamara #RobertDevine #Misconduct #Indicted #FEDS #InternalInvestigation #YouthExplorersProgram

Transcript

00:00A police officer accused of killing a young woman and staging her death to look like a suicide

00:05has been hit with a new charge. That's Matthew Farwell. He was already facing a federal charge

00:10for the death of Sandra Birchmore, but the new accusation involves the unborn child Birchmore

00:15was carrying when she died. Stakes are high in this case. Farwell could receive the death penalty

00:20if he's found guilty in the case. Prosecutors say just weeks after Birchmore told the former

00:26police detective he was the father of her unborn child, she was dead. He was the leader of a youth

00:31explorers program at the Stoughton Police Department. He's accused of grooming Birchmore and having sex

00:37with her when she was as young as just 15 years old. Police found the 23-year-old dead inside her

00:42apartment in 2021. It wasn't until three years later that the FBI arrested Farwell, accusing him

00:49of killing Birchmore and staging her death to look like a suicide. The new charge relates to a federal

00:54law that protects unborn children. We asked our NBC 10 legal expert about the timing of adding this

01:00new charge so many months later. This is not a new development, so the idea may be that they're

01:07trying to put additional pressure on him to plea to the original charges or to this charge as well

01:12in order to save his life or in order to get a more beneficial arrangement.

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