Former detective charged with abusing a pregnant lady when he was a teenager and trying to make her death appear to be suicide

Former detective charged with abusing a pregnant lady when he was a teenager and trying to make her death appear to be suicide
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Federal prosecutors said on Wednesday that a former Massachusetts police officer has been charged in connection with the 2021 death of a lady who had recently told him she was pregnant with his kid. The woman is suspected of strangling the woman and then setting the scene to appear as a suicide.

They claim that years after he started to sexually abuse and groom Sandra Birchmore when she was a young Stoughton Police Explorers Academy student, Matthew Farwell killed her. Farwell worked for the Stoughton Police Department from 2012 to 2022 as a teacher in the program intended to encourage an interest in law enforcement.

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Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy revealed at a press conference on Wednesday that Farwell, 38, started having intercourse with Birchmore when she was 15 years old, including while she was on duty.

She endured years of abuse at the hands of Matthew Farwell, including statutory rape, sexual assault, and grooming, according to Levy.

Before starting to commit statutory rape, Farwell made friends with her, communicated with her online, and accompanied her to the library, according to Levy.

Prosecutors claim that on February 1, 2021, in her Canton, Massachusetts, apartment, Farwell killed Birchmore, 23, because he was unable to manage her and because he had been having sex with her for years.

Levy claimed that “he permanently silenced her.”

At first, the authorities declared Birchmore’s death to be a suicide.

Farwell faces a single charge of murdering a victim or witness. On Wednesday, the FBI took him into custody in Revere, Massachusetts.

A request for comment from Farwell’s attorney was not immediately answered.

According to a motion prosecutors filed advocating for pretrial detention, Birchmore informed Farwell in October 2020 that she wanted a baby and he agreed to attempt and conceive her if she remained silent about his previous behavior and their relationship.

Levy claimed that while Birchmore was thrilled about her pregnancy and wanted a child, Farwell was not, and as a result, his behavior became more unpredictable and violent.

After informing Farwell that the child was his, Birchmore started questioning him about check-ups with the doctor, ultrasounds, and what details would be included on the birth certificate.

“Becoming uncontrollable”

According to the indictment, one of her friends informed Stoughton police a month before Birchmore was slain that Farwell had been having sex with Birchmore.

In late 2020 and early 2021, Mr. Farwell was becoming increasingly uncontrollable, and Sandra Birchmore’s knowledge of his illicit activities was in jeopardy. Indeed, Levy stated, “Less than two weeks before she was discovered dead, rumors about their relationship began to circulate.”

Following the friend’s disclosure, 6-foot-4 Farwell and 4-foot-10 Birchmore are said to have been aggressive. Levy claimed that he shoved her and choked her.

Hours before his wife gave birth to their third child, according to the prosecution, Farwell killed Birchmore. Prosecutors said that Birchmore’s strangling occurred as a blizzard struck the Boston area, providing Farwell with cover for Birchmore’s days-long absence from work.

Prosecutors claim that Farwell hid evidence in Birchmore’s death by instructing her to remove evidence from her phone showing they had sex before she turned sixteen, moving her lifeless body, and setting up her flat to resemble a suicide scene, according to the petition.

Prosecutors said he also misled police from the Massachusetts State Police, which was the organization that handled the first investigation into Birchmore’s death. He said he only had sex a few times and that their sexual relationship started in 2020, not seven years earlier. Additionally, the detention request stated that he gave only “limited consent” for a search of his mobile.

Alarming claims

A Marshall Project investigation concerning abuse claims at law enforcement Explorer positions across the nation was published in May in collaboration with NBC News, and it contained information about Birchmore’s alleged sexual abuse while a member of the police Explorers club. The Boy Scouts of America developed the curriculum with the intention of educating teenagers and young adults on the police.

The announcement of Farwell’s arrest coincides with the revelation made two years ago by the police chief of Stoughton that two previous employees of the agency, Farwell’s twin brother William among them, had illicit interactions with Birchmore.

The accusations have been refuted by William Farwell.

According to Chief Donna McNamara, the determination was reached after a protracted internal affairs inquiry that was sparked by Birchmore’s passing. She described the former officers’ actions as “deeply disturbing.”

“Through a persistent and intentional combination of falsehoods, deceit, and treachery, they broke the regulations and the essential values of the Stoughton Police Department,” McNamara said at the time “As well as human decency.”

According to McNamara, the Farwell brothers joined the Explorers club as young members under Robert Devine, the third ex-officer who was charged with having an improper association with Birchmore. Devine refuted the accusations.

According to McNamara, Devine, a former deputy chief at the Stoughton Police Department, changed the Explorers program from a scouting club into a paramilitary organization that taught young people about policing.

William Farwell, like Matthew Farwell, taught in the program in the town located roughly twenty-five miles south of Boston, according to McNamara.

According to a wrongful death lawsuit her family filed against the Farwell brothers and Devine in 2022, Birchmore had a rough upbringing but came to have great respect for law enforcement before joining the Explorers group as a young adolescent.

“Her associations with guys who were willing to take advantage of her were prompted by people with oaths and duties to protect and serve,” McNamara stated.

According to McNamara, Birchmore was 15 when Matthew Farwell is reported to have started their sexual connection at the age of 27.

According to McNamara, the internal affairs probe turned up hundreds of mails and explicit conversations between them over a period of years. She added that the investigation revealed Birchmore was introduced to other males by William Farwell.

All three of the men quit, according to McNamara, before they could be interviewed.

When questioned on Wednesday regarding the other former policemen, Levy remained silent.

According to McNamara, the department suggested that their police officer certificates be permanently revoked, barring them from participating in law enforcement activities nationwide.

Requests for comment regarding the status of William Farwell and Devine’s decertifications were not immediately answered by their attorneys.

Justice in the case has been McNamara’s top concern for the past three years, she said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Throughout her life, Sandra Birchmore never experienced justice,” she said. “Justice must be done in her death, and it seems that today’s actions have moved our society one step closer to that goal.”

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