Sandra Marie Birchmore was born on May 13, 1997, to Denise F. McKain Birchmore, taking her mother’s last name. Throughout Sandra’s childhood, Denise struggled with illness, and Sandra had no relationship with her father. She was raised by her single mother, with the support of her grandmother, Grace Theresa Coughlin, who played a significant role in her upbringing until her death in 2001. After Grace passed away, her sister, Claire G. Coughlin Gaudet, stepped in to provide grandmotherly care. Tragically, in 2016, both Claire and Denise passed away, with Sandra losing her mother first and her grandmother just a month later.

September 1998 Matthew and William Farwell joined Police Explorers Program, they were 12 years old. Farwell brothers were known to have disciplinary issues while attending school.

2001 Devine served as school resource officer and volunteered with Explorers Program run by Stoughton PD and in 2002 Robert Devine was ordered to run the Explorers Program by the Former Chief Cachopa. In 2022 Matthew Farwell been designated the rank of Deputy Chief within a program and William Farwell been designated to the rank of Lieutenant.

In 2003 Robert Devine brought in former Explorers Matthew Farwell and his twin brother, William then 17 years old, as guest instructors. IA Report p6

Note: According to the Case podcast who interviewed a witness, Farwell brothers were always at the middle school Gym with Devine.

In 2004 Matthew Farwell earned high-school equivalency diploma in Maine. He enlisted in the Army, where he was trained as an explosives expert and deployed to Afghanistan for six months in 2006.

2005 Sandra Birchmore attends the Respect Program at the age of 8.

2006 Sandra attends a 14-week Strengthening Program for high-risk families.

In 2008 Matthew Farwell’s military service ended and he moved back to Mas and was hired by the Wellesley Police Department, where he served from 2008 to 2012. He begins to volunteer at local youth programs. Note: During his time at Wellesley Police, he received several commendations, including one for performing CPR on a man who collapsed at a local gym, in 2012.

In 2010 former Explorers Matthew Farwell officer at Wellesley Police Department and his twin brother, William Army, volunteered as instructors in Explorers Program.

March, 2010 Sandra tried to join Youth Explorers program, when she was 12 but was on the stand-by list for the program, She began participating in the program in the spring of 2010.

September 2011 (through June 2012) Farwell volunteers for Police Explorers and begins meeting with Birchmore during her freshman year in high school. Birchmore tells others that Farwell is helping her with homework.

March 19, 2012 Sandra and her family attended the Orientation and sign ups for the 2012 Explorers Academy which was held at the Stoughton Police Station.

on October 28, 2012 Matthew Farwell sent Birchmore a Facebook “friend request”

April 10, 2013 Matthew Farwell SA assaulted Sandra when she was 15 years old. Sandra began using a journal describing her relationship with Farwell. Matthew Farwell reportedly began an inappropriate physical relationship with Sandra Birchmore when she was 15, which is considered statutory rape under Massachusetts law. 

Birchmore’s journal entries from 2013 detail a continuous and sometimes violent sexual relationship with Farwell. Birchmore often journaled about Matthew Farwell using sex acts to punish her. According to her journal entries, Matthew Farwell would engage in forceful sex acts to punish her for her mistakes such as getting bad grades and failing to share her cell phone location with him.

In a Facebook post, the Stoughton Police Department writes, “Smile Birchmore,”Matthew Farwell had sex with Birchmore when she was a minor, starting in or around April 2013, when Birchmore was 15 and Matthew Farwell was 27.

On December 9, 2013, the Stoughton Police Department posted a photo on their official Facebook page. The image showed a group of teenagers, part of the department’s Police Explorers program, gathered in front of a decorated Christmas tree. The mood was festive, with each young face beaming with excitement and holiday cheer. Among them was Sandra Birchmore, a 15-year-old girl with a bright smile that lit up the room. The caption beneath the photo read, “Smile Birchmore,” capturing the moment of joy shared among the group.

For most people who saw the post, it was just another heartwarming snapshot of community engagement, a reminder that the local police were involved in fostering positive relationships with the youth. Sandra, who had joined the program with dreams of becoming a police officer one day, seemed to embody the spirit of the event—an eager, young girl full of promise and hope.

But beneath Sandra’s smile was a world of confusion and fear that no one could see in the photograph. She admired the officers she worked with, looking up to them as mentors and protectors. They were figures of authority who she believed were there to guide her, to help her realize her dreams. But what the public didn’t know, what even Sandra herself was only beginning to understand, was that some of those very officers were slowly beginning to take advantage of her trust and innocence.

Sandra thrived in the program and In 2014, her mother expressed her gratitude to the local Explorer post for their efforts.

On April 17, 2014 Denise Birchmore sent a letter to Robert Devine. In letter Denise Birchmore was extending thanks to the Stoughton Police Department, and in particular, Devine for running the police Explorers program.

On June 12, 2014, a seemingly ordinary day in the small town of Stoughton, Massachusetts, a tweet went out from the official Twitter account of the Stoughton Police Department. The tweet read, “Waiting for their turn #policeexplorers,” accompanied by a photo of a group of young Police Explorers—aspiring law enforcement officers—standing in a line, eagerly waiting for their next activity.

Unbeknownst to the public, her family, and concealed behind the department’s polished image, Sandra had become a victim of those she once looked up to. Officers who were supposed to mentor her, guide her, and protect her had taken advantage of her trust and vulnerability. Over time, the abuse escalated, with officers using their positions of power to manipulate and exploit her.

On that fateful day in June, while the young Police Explorers were “waiting for their turn” to participate in training exercises, Sandra Birchmore was enduring another cycle of abuse by those very officers. The tweet, meant to showcase the department’s commitment to nurturing future officers, was a stark contrast to the reality of what was happening behind closed doors.

The abuse continued for years, hidden in plain sight, with Sandra suffering in silence. The cheerful photos and tweets masked a grim truth—a truth that would only come to light years later when Sandra’s life was lost.

Sandra thrived in the program and In 2014, her mother expressed her gratitude to the local Explorer post for their efforts. in 2015 Sandra Graduated from Stoughton Highschool

June 4, 2015, Sandra graduated from high school – Stoughton High School Class of 2015. High School Announcement

Denise F. (McKain) Birchmore, 52, died Wednesday, May 18, 2016, at the Tufts Medical Center in Boston after a long illness. Born in Tewksbury, she was raised in Dorchester and Stoughton and was a graduate of Stoughton High School, Class of 1982. She was a longtime resident of Stoughton. Mrs. Birchmore worked as a payroll clerk at Howard Johnson’s in Milton several years ago. She lost her husband Warren Birchmore in 1995. In her free time, she enjoyed spending time with her daughter Sandra Birchmore and her family.

In 2001 Claire G. Coughlin Gaudet, stepped in to provide grandmotherly care after Sandra lost her grandmother  Grace Theresa Coughlin.

Claire G. (Coughlin) Gaudet, 89, a longtime resident of Stoughton, died unexpectedly at Brockton Hospital on Friday, June 24, 2016. She was the wife of the late Gerald V. Gaudet. Born in Boston, she was raised and educated in South Boston. She resided in Stoughton for over 50 years. Claire was a homemaker. She enjoyed crossword puzzles, shopping, trips to D.W. Field Park in Brockton, the beach and Castle Island and spending time with her family.

Mrs. Gaudet was the aunt of Alice McKain and Darlene Smith both of Stoughton and the late Denise Birchmore and Stephen Gaudet.

Surveillance footage of Sandra Birchmore’s apartment complex, showing the last time she was seen alive and the last person to see her alive, Matthew Farwell, entering and leaving the building on February 1st, 2021.

Matthew Farwell told troopers he visited Birchmore’s apartment on the evening of Feb. 1, 2021, telling her that he wasn’t the father of her baby, records show. Birchmore was upset, Farwell told the troopers, but didn’t make “any suicidal statements.”

“Matt said that he was straightforward in his conversation with her, and told her that it was all over and he was blocking her from all forms of communication,” Fanning wrote.

Surveillance footage from Birchmore’s apartment complex showed Matthew Farwell entering her apartment building and then exiting 28 minutes later, State Police records show.

Surveillance footage from Birchmore’s apartment complex captured Matthew Farwell entering her building and exiting 28 minutes later.

Afterward, Farwell drove to Newton-Welles Hospital, located 12 miles outside of Boston. At this hospital, on February 2, 2021, at 9:25 a.m., Michelle Farwell gave birth to their son.

On February 4, 2021, school officials contacted the School Resource Officer to check on Sandra Birchmore, who had missed a few days of work. Officers Cotard, Brady, and Yeaton responded to 3307 Windsor Woods Way to make contact with Sandra. When they arrived, no one answered the door.

Sandra’s vehicle was in the apartment complex parking lot, covered in snow and had not been moved since the snowfall on Monday, 2/1/21.

The officers spoke with a property manager, who provided a key to access the apartment. At 11:46 AM, Officers found Sandra in the bedroom, deceased with a black strap around her neck, tied to the bedroom closet door. Sandra was 10 weeks pregnant and The cause of death was determined to be suicide.

Video from the apartment complex showed a man entering the lobby of Sandra’s building. Detectives learned from maintenance worker Michael that the person in the video looked like the man who helped Sandra move into her apartment. It was later revealed that Sandra had been victimized by three police officers who were part of the Explorer program and the man in the video is Detective Matthew Farwell..

Before her death, Sandra had shared with a coworker that she was dating a police officer who was 10 or 11 years older than her and already had two children from a previous relationship. She also mentioned that she wanted to get pregnant with her boyfriend, and it is believed that one of the officers, Matthew Farwell, was the father. Sandra was 23 years old, 5’1″, and ten weeks pregnant.

2021 report, State Police Trooper Matthew Dunne described finding Birchmore’s body in her bedroom on Feb. 4, 2021.

• Trooper Matthew Dunne said he found no indications of physical abuse or bruising, swelling, external trauma, or markings suggesting a struggle, the report said.
• Chris Adams and Caitlyn Bulger of the Medical Examiner’s Office took custody of the body.
• Swabs from Birchmore’s body, hair and fingernail clippings, and clothing she was wearing were taken for a sexual assault kit, but Baden wrote that it “appears” the evidence was not tested.
• A toxicology report found Sandra Birchmore was taking sertraline, a prescription psychotropic medication usually taken for depression

Later Sandra Birchmore family members found a necklace that belonged to Birchmore lying on the floor of her bedroom. This necklace consisted of a thin gold chain with a pink flamingo charm.16 The family members observed that the necklace’s chain was broken, but not at the clasp. There was also a large clump of hair on the chain. From my review of the crime scene photos, it was observed that, while the strap was still around Sandra Birchmore’s neck, the necklace was broken and hanging from the left side of her neck. The necklace’s charm was on the right side of her abdomen.

Farwell told officers that he was involved in a sexual relationship with Birchmore, but he claimed the relationship only began in 2020. Based on this investigation, Farwell’s statement to detectives was false. As described above, FARWELL began having sex with Birchmore in 2013 and continued to have sex with her until near her death.

Farwell told detectives that he had only had sex with Birchmore two or three times in the previous year. This statement was also false. Based on text messages between Farwell and Birchmore, Farwell had sexual intercourse with Birchmore on at least 10 occasions between January 1, 2020, and February 1, 2021.

Farwell also told detectives that he could not have been the father of Birchmore’s unborn child because the last time he had intercourse with her was October 2020. This statement was also false. Set forth below is a text message conversation between Farwell and Birchmore:

on November 18, 2020, in which they discussed an upcoming sexual encounter:

• FARWELL: I’m going to try for tonight I’ve been in interviews all day from the murder Sorry
• BIRCHMORE: Exciting. Okay. I’m running to the store and doing something for you then. I hope you can come
• FARWELL: What are you doing for me?
• BIRCHMORE: Lol shaving.
• BIRCHMORE: Are you planning on rolling me over? I need to know what you want if you come?
• FARWELL: If you want me to roll you * * *
• FARWELL: Would you want me to use a condom if I roll you?
• BIRCHMORE: I dont have any lol. I never picked any up. * * *
• BIRCHMORE: Do you want me to just take what you do or try and say no? I know being told no is your favorite
• FARWELL: Say no
• BIRCHMORE: 😉 I can do that

Approximately 21 minutes after the foregoing text messages, Farwell told Birchmore that he was at her apartment and subsequent text messages indicate that she let him in. Approximately 25 minutes later, Birchmore asked Farwell via text message whether he enjoyed having vaginal sex with her again and he responded, “yeah.”

February 6, 2021, interview, Farwell told detectives that he had been at Birchmore’s apartment on the night of February 1, 2021. However, he denied having anything to do with her death. He told detectives that he had arrived around 9:10 p.m. and left around 9:30 p.m. The review of surveillance footage from Birchmore’s apartment building showed that Farwell actually left at 9:43 p.m. That was after Birchmore’s phone stopped sending messages or recording movement. Within approximately 13 hours of Farwell’s visit to Birchmore apartment on February 1, 2021, his wife gave birth to their third child at Newton Wellesley Hospital, adding to the intensifying pressure to ensure that Birchmore would not disclose information regarding Farwell’s conduct.

Farwell told detectives that he had not seen Birchmore at all in the week leading up to her death, except during the visit to her apartment on February 1, 2021. Based on my review of the text messages between Farwell and Birchmore, Matthew Farwell visited Birchmore at her apartment on January 29, 2021.

Farwell told detectives that Birchmore had been “sectioned” many times, officers often use to refer to the practice of involuntarily hospitalizing, on a temporary basis, persons with severe mental health issues. However, the Stoughton Police Department, the law enforcement agency in the town where Birchmore lived her whole life before moving to Canton on or about December 1, 2020, has a record of Birchmore being subject to this temporary mental health hospitalization only one time, in May of 2020.

Note: According to police records and information disclosed by a witness, on that day, Birchmore had gotten into a fight with a family member, who called the police and reported Birchmore was going to harm herself. The police took Sandra Birchmore to the hospital, where she was evaluated and deemed not at risk for self-harm. She was released a few hours later. The Canton Police Department has no record of Birchmore being subject to temporary mental health hospitalization.

First Autopsy was performed by Maria Del Mar Capo Martinez, MD.

2021 – The Medical Examiner’s written autopsy report noted that Birchmore’s hyoid bone (a U-shaped bone at the front of the neck) was fractured on the right side and that she suffered from petechial hemorrhages of the bulbar and palpebral conjunctivae.

Additionally, the Medical Examiner concluded that Birchmore had a hemorrhage of her left sternothyroid muscle.

• killed herself by hanging, according to her death certificate
• The Medical Examiner determined that Birchmore’s cause of death was asphyxia by hanging.
• The Medical Examiner ruled Birchmore’s manner of death a suicide.
• The Medical Examiner’s autopsy report further confirmed that Birchmore was approximately 8 to 10 weeks pregnant at the time of her death.
• The autopsy included toxicology testing. The results of the toxicology tests were negative for all substances except for sertraline, which was likely explained by the antidepressants Birchmore had been prescribed.

The state medical examiner determined that Birchmore, who was 23 years old and three months pregnant at the time, died by suicide. A subsequent State Police investigation found no evidence of foul play. Death Certificate Issued on March 4, 2021

In 2022, Nineteen months after her death, an internal affairs report released by the Stoughton Police Department sparked widespread interest in the Birchmore case as the public became aware of disturbing allegations against three SPD officers—brothers Matthew and William Farwell, and Robert Devine—all of whom have since resigned. The report concluded that all three men, whom Birchmore had met as a teenager in the middle school through the department’s now-defunct Youth Explorers Program, had engaged in inappropriate sexual relationships with her. The investigation revealed that Matthew Farwell, who was 12 years older and married, had an ongoing sexual affair with Birchmore that began when she was 15 and continued until shortly before her death.

Sandra’s family has hired a pathologist who has issued a report as part of preparation for the civil lawsuit. Chief of the Stoughton Police Department released statement in response to the report.

The Stoughton Police Department is committed to transparency in this matter and we will continue to provide updates as they become available.

As chief of the Stoughton Police Department, I have directly participated in this lengthy and aggressive internal affairs investigation. In September of 2022, I released an executive summary which revealed for the first time, the horrific injustices including grooming and sexual abuse inflicted upon Sandra Birchmore at the hands of one rogue and corrupt former police officer and additional inappropriate sexual relationships by other former police officers.

It has been my stated mission, guided by both my understanding of the policies and procedures of the Stoughton Police Department and my own moral compass, that this process must be as transparent as possible and that we follow every lead and shine light on all aspects of this horrific chapter in our history, no matter what.

First, let me say that at the time of the first call that I received from the Chief regarding the information regarding Mr. Farwell, we determined that the allegations were at a degree of horrific that required us to ensure that until and if we saw otherwise, he would not wear a Stoughton Police uniform. By law, the most we could do is put Mr. Farwell on administrative leave starting the day he was to return to work from some unrelated personal leave. Also, by law, we cannot withhold pay during such time as an investigation is being conducted as all we have initially are allegations. However, because this is an Internal Affairs process, and not a criminal case regarding our jurisdiction, we can at least use the administrative leave process to ensure that any officer who is ever in question of something egregious is “off the streets” until and if we learn otherwise. Prior to the conclusion of the investigation, Mr. Farwell tendered his resignation. That does not mean that the case is closed. We have a moral and legal obligation to finish the investigation – and subsequently present the report to the new state POST commission. That body has the authority to decertify officers based on internal affairs investigations – meaning that an officer deemed unworthy of certification may not become a police officer in any other community.

The Abington Police Department is aware of allegations of misconduct concerning one of its officers. This Department does not take allegations of officer misconduct lightly. These are serious allegations and will be investigated thoroughly. An Internal Affairs investigation into this matter is currently underway.

The officer who is the subject of this investigation has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of this investigation.

Due to the ongoing nature of this investigation, we are unable to provide any additional details.

Prior to becoming an Abington police officer in 2019, Heal was the Stoughton Police Department’s Animal Control Officer. Joshua Heal, served as Abington’s school resource officers and as a comfort dog handler, submitted his resignation ahead of a scheduled interview with internal investigators. He had been on administrative leave since September 2022

The Abington investigation determined that Officer Joshua Heal was not a credible witness and less than forthright in his conversations with Stoughton and Abington officials.

The investigation did reveal activities by Stoughton Police officers that required further investigation by the Stoughton Police department and its outside investigators.

The 60-page report and its conclusions and exhibits are being reviewed by the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office to determine if criminal charges can be brought. Prosecutors are at the beginning of that substantial process, which will take some time to exhaust.

The Norfolk District Attorney urges anyone who believes that they have direct knowledge of misconduct, or is themselves the victim of any similar misconduct, to contact this office directly at 781-830-4990.

In Birchmore’s case, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts ruled Birchmore’s 2021 death a suicide. State Investigators later discovered tens of thousands of text messages between Farwell and Birchmore, many of which implied an inappropriate relationship, as well as surveillance video showing him entering and exiting her apartment

In 2022 The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office didn’t bring charges against Matthew Farwell or the other two officers Devine and Matthew Farwell both have denied wrongdoing, and they are not facing charges in federal court. The department turned the results of the investigation over to prosecutors. Investigators said at the time that there was no foul play in Birchmore’s death..

The Stoughton Police Department ran the Explorer program for about 15 years, but could only locate a single one-year agreement with Learning for Life, the Scouting affiliate that oversees the national Explorer program.
Robert C. Devine has led the Stoughton Police Explorers Program since 2003, a youth initiative under the department. 

The agreement, signed by Devine in 2010, required the department to encourage officers to take Youth Protection Training and undergo an annual evaluation by Learning for Life. However, the department has not found any records indicating that any officers involved in the program completed the training, nor were any records of evaluations located.

Robert C. Devine has led the Stoughton Police Explorers Program since 2003, a youth initiative under the department. Devine invited former Explorers, Matthew Farwell and his twin brother, William, to serve as guest instructors. The Explorers, a co-ed branch of the Boy Scouts, is designed for older teens and often centers on specific fields like law enforcement. While the program existed before Devine became an advisor, it was struggling with low attendance and enthusiasm. To revive interest, Devine surveyed the members, proposing a mock police academy. Initially, the Explorer post had just five participants, but after promoting the academy, the number increased to 14. By 2011, the program was attracting 25 to 30 kids annually. The post met year-round, with the academy running from March to June, two nights a week.

The Civilian Youth Explorers Program is for motivated teens with a cut off age of 21. It is a ten week, physically and mentally demanding program based loosely on an actual police academy experience. Graduates of the program are eligible for department ride-along during the summer months. The primary purpose is to give the youth of Stoughton and surrounding towns an activity where they are occupied during high risk times of the day and to have non-confrontational interactions with Stoughton Police Officers. The program is geared toward young people with an interest in policing, medical, fire service, military service, or a desire to serve their community.

Come and learn crucial life skills that will serve you well into adulthood. The Police Explorers academy is a demanding ten week course that covers the following:

• Physical Fitness
• Police Customs and Courtesies
• CPR Certification
• Self Defense
• Criminal, Constitutional, Motor Vehicle Law
• Drug Awareness
• The Court System
• K-9 Demonstrations
• Crime Scene Investigation
• Much More!

Orientation and sign ups for the 2014 Explorers Academy will be on March 27U| at 5:00 PM at the Stoughton Police Station.

The Academy is for motivated teens with a cut off age of 21 and will take place Wednesdays and Thursdays- at 5:30 PM starting on April 2nd Graduates will be eligible for the department ride-along program during file summer months. The program is geared toward young people with an interest in policing, medical, fire service, military service, or a desire to serve your community.