For Years They Called It Suicide; Now a Jury Will Decide

There are stories that settle into a community slowly, like sediment in still water, and then one day rise up with a clarity that is impossible to ignore. The death of Sandra Birchmore, a 23-year-old woman found in her Canton, Massachusetts, apartment in February 2021, was initially ruled a suicide. For more than three years, that was the official story. But the story has since been rewritten—first by a medical examiner who withdrew the suicide finding, then by federal prosecutors who allege that Birchmore was killed by a police officer who had groomed her since she was a teenager .

That officer, Matthew Farwell, is now on trial in federal court in Boston. He is charged with killing Birchmore and causing the death of her unborn child, allegedly strangling her and staging the scene to look like a suicide because he feared she would expose their relationship . Prosecutors say Farwell met Birchmore when she was 13 years old and a member of the Stoughton Police Department’s youth program, and that he groomed her for years before beginning a sexual relationship when she was 15 and he was 27 . Farwell has pleaded not guilty, and his defense has argued that Birchmore had a history of suicide attempts and that no forensic evidence ties him to the killing .

Lauren Andrews, a friend of Birchmore’s, told CBS News that she never believed the suicide ruling. Andrews described Birchmore as someone who was excited about her pregnancy and planning to attend nursing school. “She wanted that baby, she wanted a life for that baby,” Andrews said . When she heard Birchmore had died by suicide, Andrews said, “We felt it was a lie. We felt injustice had occurred” . She said she immediately suspected Farwell and told Canton police about her suspicions, but felt her concerns were not taken seriously .

The trial has brought to light details that have fueled outrage in the Boston area. Prosecutors allege that Farwell and other officers—including his twin brother, William, and a department supervisor—had inappropriate relationships with Birchmore over the years, and that she was essentially “passed around” within the department . An internal affairs investigation found that three officers had engaged in inappropriate relationships with her, and all three resigned in 2022 . Only Matthew Farwell faces criminal charges.

Andrews’s words carry the weight of someone who watched a young woman she considered family be failed by the systems that were supposed to protect her. “It was complete, 100% exploitation is what it was,” she said. “It was grooming” . The prosecution’s case rests on the argument that Farwell killed Birchmore to prevent her from reporting the sexual abuse that began when she was a minor—a killing of a witness or victim, a charge that carries a potential life sentence .

The medical examiner’s initial ruling of suicide has been withdrawn, and the manner of death is now listed as “undetermined” . But for Birchmore’s friends and family, the uncertainty that lingered for years is its own kind of injury. The trial, which is expected to last five to six weeks, will not bring Birchmore back. But it may bring something else: a public accounting of what happened, and a reckoning with how a young woman who dreamed of becoming a police officer came to be, in the words of her friend, exploited by the very people she admired.

Opening statements in the trial began last week, and testimony is ongoing. Farwell is being held without bail and faces life in prison if convicted. The defense has argued that Birchmore died by suicide, citing the medical examiner’s initial finding, and has disputed key elements of the prosecution’s timeline .

Note: AI-generated imagery accompanies this article and does not represent real individuals or locations.

---

Sources: CBS News, The Boston Globe, New York Post, Daily Mail