A former Massachusetts police officer is accused of murdering a pregnant woman who accused him of sexual abuse and staged her death as a suicide.
Sandra Birchmore, 23, died in 2021, PEOPLE previously reported. The Stoughton, Mass., police department previously claimed that three former officers had inappropriate connections with Birchmore, commencing when she was 15 years old.
The United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts has now announced an indictment against one of the policemen, Matthew Farwell, 38, on charges of killing a witness or victim. Farwell was arrested on Wednesday, August 28, according to the Justice Department.
It is unclear whether Farwell has filed a plea or retained an attorney.
According to prosecutors, “Farwell killed Birchmore with the intent to prevent law enforcement from learning about Farwell’s commission or possible commission of federal offenses,” according to a press statement.
Birchmore’s death was initially deemed a suicide, but prosecutors say the federal inquiry resulted in a review of old evidence that discovered new evidence, leading to Farwell’s arrest.
Prosecutors believe Farwell started a connection with Birchmore when she was 15. The relationship continued after she reached adulthood, with Birchmore falling pregnant in December 2020 with a kid she claimed was Farwell’s, according to prosecutors in a news release.
When the alleged relationship began, Birchmore was a member of Stoughton’s Explorers program, which allows children to explore a career in police enforcement and meet with officers. Farwell, a former Stoughton cop, served as an instructor in the program.
Farwell is accused of killing Birchmore in Canton, Massachusetts, on February 1, 2021, roughly two weeks after a friend of Birchmore reported the relationship to the Stoughton Police Department.
If convicted, Farwell faces a mandatory death sentence or life in prison, according to prosecutors.
The Boston Globe earlier reported that Birchmore’s family had recruited Dr. Michael Baden, New York City’s former chief medical examiner, to investigate her death. Baden submitted a letter in June challenging the original suicide verdict and claiming she was strangled to death, according to The Globe.
In June, Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara stated in response to the current media attention on Birchmore’s death.
“Every good and decent police officer should be aware of and angry about the injustices inflicted upon Sandra Birchmore,” she said. “Sandra idolized police officers and what policing stood for in America, and she was victimized as a result.”
No charges have been filed against the other two former officers accused by Stoughton police of having inappropriate connections with Birchmore.
