Sandra Birchmore's friend relieved former Stoughton police officer arrested in her murder
STOUGHTON - Friends of Sandra Birchmore are rejoicing following the indictment of former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell. Investigators say he groomed Sandra at a young age before getting her pregnant, strangling her to death, and covering up the murder to look like a suicide.
"A very good kid"
"Nope, there was no way she was going to kill herself. All our friends knew she wouldn't do it," said Natalia Alves, a friend of Birchmore's who had coffee with her several times a week. "She was a very good kid who wanted to be a teacher. She wanted to have a baby, have a little kid, have her own family."
Birchmore was found dead in 2021. Her death was deemed a suicide by the Canton police and the Norfolk District Attorney's office. At the time, Birchmore was pregnant.
In 2012, Birchmore began attending the Stoughton Police Explorers Academy. It's a program for kids interested in a future in law enforcement. Farwell was a volunteer instructor there. Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said the two began an illegal sexual relationship years into the program.
"By having sex with her when he was a 27-year-old police officer and she was just 15-years-old," said Levy.
Court documents reiterate Alves' point, saying Birchmore wanted a baby. The documents say Farwell agreed to try to impregnate Birchmore in exchange for her silence about their illegal relationship.
"The 6-foot-4 Farwell started to be violent with the 4-foot-10 Sandra Birchmore," explained Levy.
The indictment says Birchmore told Farwell she was pregnant in December of 2020. Alves says the two had a discussion about her pregnancy during one of their coffee talks.
"She was happy"
"She said the baby's father was a Stoughton police officer," remembers Alves. "She was happy. One of her dreams was to have a baby, and she was having a baby. There was no way she would kill herself."
At the time of her death in February of 2021, Alves never said anything to police about their conversation, however her death had already been deemed a suicide without foul play. On Wednesday, she found out that Officer Farwell was indicted.
"One of my patients told me the guy Farwell went to jail," Alves said. "I was like, 'What?' I was so happy that I started crying. I am like, 'Oh my God! Thank God!"
In an affidavit filed by the FBI, Birchmore texted someone that Farwell asked for a key to her apartment.
"She told friends, he was oddly inspecting the apartment including the closet she was found dead in front of," said Levy.
On Wednesday morning, Farwell was arrested at a shopping plaza in Revere. SWAT teams took him into custody while he was operating a gravel hauler. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison if found guilty. Levy says the death penalty is still a possibility.
